


The Phoenix in the Dark

by SplatteredArtist



Series: Black & White [4]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Bargaining, Emotional Manipulation, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Gang Rape, Implied/Referenced Torture, Manipulative Relationship, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Self-Doubt, Self-Sacrifice, Stockholm Syndrome, Threesome - F/M/M, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2020-08-11 21:08:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 135,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20160127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SplatteredArtist/pseuds/SplatteredArtist
Summary: Unraveling the secrets surrounding their lives, Rauxdi finds herself wrapped into a deeper snare than she bargained for regarding Xigbar's deal.On the other hand, Audri is trying to leave behind Organization XIII after the fall. Both of them gets roped back in for one more crazy ride due to their 'abilities' and 'skills'.Can the two girls get out before they lose themselves?Updates weekly





	1. You Piece of Shit

_I can't believe that son of a bitch made me come here_, Rauxdi thought to herself as she walked around Radiant Garden's tiny square trying to not draw attention to herself. Thankfully she was pulling it off as she wasn't wearing an Organization XIII coat.

Before she reached the world, she snuck by the shops in Twilight Town to steal some clothes from the locals. She ended up picking out a black crop top hoodie, high waisted red shorts with white stockings and black sneakers.

Thankfully she looked young enough to pull it off due to Audri's genetic material.

Or what Audri _was_.

_I hope that she's still alive somewhere. I'd feel like shit if that wound made her bleed to death_, She thought to herself as she jammed her hands into her pockets.

She glanced over at one of the stands she was passing by and saw a small star-shaped charm made out of purple sea glass and twine. Rauxdi waved the Moogle down and paid out of her pocket munny to purchase the necklace.

Rauxdi hummed with pride in owning something for herself instead of her Organization coat as she trotted down the alleyways towards the Castle.

"I wish I had gotten directions from the locals, but I think I'd be too suspicious asking about their supercomputer," Rauxdi sighed walking through the ruined hallways seeing the small Shadow Heartless looking up at her but after giving them a nasty glare, they scurried off.

She took a small break sitting on some rubble as she rubbed the sea glass through her fingers. _This better lead to answers or I'm going to have to kill myself to go hunt down Xigbar's soul myself,_ Rauxdi thought with a smile chuckle coming to her lips before feeling something on her face.

She reached up to see water drops on her fingertips and raised an eyebrow.

"Tears?" She said out loud before she heard something moving around her. Rauxdi jumped up from her seat as she saw Armoured Knight Heartless started to appear in the area.

"Oh, just a bunch of heartless. Big whoop," Rauxdi said with a sigh of relief before they all turned to face her. She stopped breathing for a second as she realized they were all looking at her.

"Huh, well that's new," She said with a nervous laugh as they started stalking slowly towards her.

"Easy... Easy... Oh shit!" Rauxdi jumped to the side rolling on the ground as an Armoured Knight swing his sword at where she stood.

"Fuck this, time to run!" She gasped not wanting to risk a fight as she bolted down the corridor.

* * *

Rauxdi slammed the door behind her as she reached the last room in the bottom of the Castle. She wiped the sweat off her brow as she leaned against the door.

_Why the hell are Heartless starting to attack me? I'm still a Nobody, not like I died or anything_, Rauxdi started to think a hundred miles a minute as she placed a hand over her chest before closing her eyes.

She relaxed for a moment before she heard a loud pounding sound. Rauxdi had her eyes scan the room for anything but she didn't see anything, realizing that the sound was coming from her.

She swallowed nervously as she placed both of her hands over her chest where her heart would be.

_Ba-bump._

_Bah-bump._

"What in the fu..." Rauxdi whispered in shock before her attention was turned to something she heard down the open corridor in the room she was barricaded in.

She slowly got up to her feet as she carefully made her way over to the corridor, peeking down to see light and sounds coming from the other end.

_Ba-bump ba-bump bah-bump._

_I fucking hate how loud this thing is_, Rauxdi mentally groaned as she kept tiptoeing down the hallway. She started to make her way before she heard some people talking. She pressed herself up against the wall as she listened.

"Lord Xemnas is nowhere to be seen, so that means... the party's already begun, huh?"

"Yes."

It sounded like two male voices were talking, and Rauxdi could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she listened in on the conversation.

"Man, does that Xehanort scares me like nobody's business, the way that he can see into minds. And it doesn't help that no one knows what it is that the old man wants."

_Ba-bump ba-bump._

"I wonder if even you know what's going on inside your own head."

"I will be led... wherever it is I am destined to go."

"Sounds to me that you don't have a clue of your own."

_God this is a fucking boring conversation._

"Every Keyblade master is bequeathed a Keyblade of his very own. With the passing of time, as you can imagine, more and more Keyblades were forged to be handed down. But of all the Keyblades in existence, Master Xehanort's is the most ancient. That is my destiny. But it has yet... to become a reality."

Rauxdi leaned her head against the wall impatient as she wasn't sure if this is what Xigbar wanted her to hear. Hell, even if it was, what was she supposed to do with the information?

"Hey it's okay. This is all connected to the ancient Keyblade War, isn't that right? Whatever. I got my hands full of my own plans."

_Ba-bump._

_You know..._

_Ba-bump._

_He sounds a little like..._

_Ba-bump._

"So, which poor soul will it be?"

_Fuck it. He was dead as a doornail the last I checked. I should just get out of here_, Rauxdi thought to herself as she started to slowly tiptoe over the rubble.

She immediately looked down as she accidentally kicked a small pebble.

_Clank! Ping ping ping ping._

"Did you hear something?"

_Shit_, She groaned as she knew her cover was going to be blown. Just before she took a step to bolt back to the room she was in, Rauxdi pushed herself back into the wall as a Keyblade almost struck her in the face.

"It looks like we had someone listening to our conversation," The Keyblade Master said as he glared coldly down at her. Rauxdi bit her tongue as she saw that the young man in front of her looked like he could be a kinsman of Xemnas.

Or some type of counterpart with the silver hair, tanned skin, and those twisted golden eyes full of destruction.

"Oh? Would you like me to do something with the intruder?" The second voice echoed down the hallway as Rauxdi heard their footsteps crunching on the rubble.

As they turned the corner, Rauxdi looked up with fear before her heart skipped a beat.

"Oh well hello there señorita, now how did you get here?" Rauxdi looked up at the eye-patched man with slicked-back hair and a scar running along the left side of his face.

"You got ten seconds to explain your-" Rauxdi was cut off as she was pinned to the wall as the younger man's keyblade struck the wall and the spikes on the end were pierced on both sides of her neck keeping her from escaping.

"You know her?" The younger man asked turning to his older accomplice as he chuckled, "She was a Nobody from a pet project Xemnas was keeping around just in case his plans failed."

"Fucking bastard," Rauxdi growled as he made a small gesture to the younger man, "Let her go. She could be some use to Master Xehanort's plan. She might be able to help you-"

"I can do it by myself," He said as coldly glaring down at her before the keyblade disappeared and walking back into the room where they came from.

"You-" Rauxdi was pinned back to the wall by the older man as he leaned his forehead against her before whispering, "Well hello there Rauxdi. Miss me?"

Rauxdi could feel herself wanting to punch the man square in the jaw but he brushed his fingertips along her exposed skin making chills slide across her skin. He planted a kiss on her collarbone as he growled in her ear, "Follow my lead."

* * *

"I would like you to turn him back into a Nobody. We're going to need plenty of vessels now that we realized that we had more failures the first round," The younger man ordered the two of us as we stood there in front of all the unconscious bodies of six of the original Organization XIII members.

"Understood sir," The older gentleman, now going by the name Braig said with a smirk as Rauxdi nodded trying to glance at a spot on the floor where there wasn't an unconscious body.

She felt her chin being forced up by the lift of a finger as she found herself face to face with the silver-haired boy.

"What was your name and rank?" He asked as Rauxdi swallowed the lump forming in her throat from feeling intimidated.

"Rauxdi. Number 00," She said with a quiet voice as he snapped his gaze over to Braig, "00?"

"Her and the other girl from the project were both of the same coin, different sides. Lord Xemnas found it easier to rank them as a number that didn't matter in Organization XIII," He explained as a pang struck Rauxdi's heart.

Somehow hearing Braig explain Xemnas' reasoning made it clearer on what use her and Audri were to them. Nothing but more pieces on the board.

The young male nodded as he gazed down her form, making chills run down her spine before he tilted her head side to side to examine her form.

"For you to come out alive while everyone else was made whole, part of me wonders why..." He started to say as his voice trailed off.

Rauxdi held her breath as he leaned in a brushed his lips against her ear as he hissed, "Do not let me down."

"Y-yes sir," She said as he pulled away and smirked, "Good girl. I will leave you two for now and be back in a while for more instructions."

As he turned around, he disappeared through a dark corridor he opened and it closed swiftly leaving the two of us with the unconscious bodies.

Braig turned to me with a grin, "I think he likes you."

Rauxdi just scowled before giving him a sucker punch to the jaw. He took a stumble back as she started flailing her arms around in frustration.

"Are you absolutely shitting me with this? What is going on here?!" Rauxdi hissed as she stomped over to Braig as he was now leaning against the computer rubbing his jaw.

"I thought you like being surprised," He said with a grin as she grabbed the red scarf around his neck and growled, "Surprise sex, yes. More diabolical planning to be in another Organization XIII, not at fucking all."

"Listen. If I told you what was happening while we were in Organization XIII, would you have believed me?" He asked grabbing her shoulders as she looked up at him with a frustrated look on her face.

"Probably not, but the fact that you said some weird shit... Oh my god-" Rauxdi looked up at him before pulling him down to her level, "YOU FUCKING KNEW THAT WE CAN HAVE HEA-"

Braig twisted her around, pinning her back against the terminal as he leaned down over Rauxdi, digging his hands into her hips.

Braig immediately unzipped her top, revealing her bare-chested as he leaned down to lay his head. He listened to her heart pounding away inside of her ribcage as Rauxdi stammered, "Y-you didn't have to..."

"What, take advantage of a woman who can now get flustered around me?" He said with a smirk as she blushed furiously at the accusation, knowing that he wasn't wrong.

Rauxdi let out a surprised moan as she felt the man graze his tongue lazily across her exposed breasts and bite down on her right nipple.

"You fucker..." She moaned trying to wrap her legs around his waist but he shoved her away to break free.

Braigs smirked as he pulled back and looked down at her, "Well congrats babydoll. Now you got your own and don't need Audri."

"Oh no you don't. We are not changing the conversation to another conversation that we need to have," Rauxdi snarled wagging her finger in his face, realizing that she would be down to get fucked right now if it wasn't for the shit he kept trying to pull.

He just snorted as he helped zip her hoodie back up, "Relax. We have all the time to talk openly now that our new bosses come every once in a while to check on us."

"And why is that?" Rauxdi asked, trying to be calm as possible as Braig walked over to pick up Isa's body off of the floor.

"Oh because they can't time travel and stay for long periods of time. Now come on, we gotta get out of here. Can you still make dark corridors?"

As Braig started walking out of the lab, Rauxdi just looked at him with her jaw dropped to the floor.

"What did you get me involved in?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for this fucking hellhole of a ride. Pardon the french. Now if you are reading this as this is still current, I plan to add more tags as characters get introduced. I wanted to keep it at a mellow level since it's going to get real fucking all over the place.


	2. Good Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome to sin city. will update every six days because i can.

"Phew, thanks for taking us to Traverse Town. He's always been heavy guy I swear," Braig said with a smile as Rauxdi crossed her eyes glaring at him from the other side of the room.

"Now Rauxdi, would you like a thank you from your Superior to make all the hurt and pain go away?" Braig taunted as he walked over and placed his hands on both sides of her head.

"Explanations first please," Rauxdi said as her hand fiddled with the hoodie zipper as she pulled it all the way up, not wanting to give the older man a peepshow.

"What do you want me to say? A recap of all the stuff I shared before?" He said as he leaned down nibbling on her earlobe, "Or would you like me to explain which Xehanort we're serving?"

Rauxdi pushed his chest, shoving him away before pointing a finger in his face.

"It's shit like this I can't take Xigbar- O-or Braig! Whoever the hell you're supposed to be. When I agreed to be your little 'witness' to everything, but this isn't what I signed up for!"

"Well, what did you think you _were_ signing up for?" He asked with a frown on his face as he gazed down at her.

She just shook her head and groaned rubbing her hands on the back of her neck.

"I don't know! You know, I thought this was going to be a quick dumb fairy tale myth. But now I'm stuck with you, the man who almost killed me, and time-traveling Keyblade Masters who are evil, as my new bosses!"

"Sounds about right," Braig said with a smile giving Rauxdi a thumbs up. She scowled before throwing a book at him before stomping over to the door connected to the hotel room.

"I'm going to sleep," Rauxdi growled as she slammed the door behind her before pinching the bridge of her nose.

_He's just human right? Well I could kill him if I really wanted to. Fucking hell... What did that idiot get me involved with_, She thought to herself as she walked over to the bathroom to take a shower.

Minutes later, Rauxdi just tossed and turned in her bed as she looked up at the ceiling. She just lied there in a pair of shorts she found lying in one of the drawers and a lace cami.

As grossed out she was about wearing other people's clothes, she could not give a shit as she was still fuming mad at the man in the next room over.

_I can't believe that he decided to keep me out of the loop with everything. With Xehanort, Xemnas's plans with Audri, even all the stuff with this Keyblade War they're trying to provoke_, Rauxdi thought to herself before she pulled her pillow from behind her head to hug it.

She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes as a prickle of tears fell down her cheeks.

_ba-bump ba-bump._

_Stupid heart... I'm trying to sleep_, Rauxdi mumbled to herself as she curled up into a tighter ball.

With everything happening so fast, she couldn't help but feel homesick and lonely missing the Castle full of laughs and stupid adventures.

Rauxdi could hear voices from the room that she left Braig and Isa to be in, but she didn't mind.

It was more soothing than the sound of her heart pounding away in her chest.

* * *

Rauxdi shuffled around in her bed before she heard some light noise and squeaking of the mattress. She groaned turning over thinking that the hotel was full of ghosts with how empty it was.

The next thing she knew, she felt a hand immediately pull her up hard and fast waking her up instantly.

She was about to scream but she had a gloved hand over her mouth as she heard someone whispering as another hand stroked the hair from her face.

"Hey Rauxdi, didn't mean to wake you," The familiar voice made Rauxdi blood boil as she could see Xigbar's face in front of her, "Guess who got their old vessels back?"

_Vessels?_ Rauxdi thought to herself before she felt someone bite her shoulder and growl into her ear, "Surprised you escaped the Castle alive. To think Xemnas didn't slaughter you."

_Aw shit. Saix is back. _She tried to scream at both at them but Xigbar ran his hand up her thigh trying to soothe her, "Easy, easy Rauxdi. I told him what's going on and he's going to be on our side. Isn't that great?"

Rauxdi just half glared at Xigbar letting him know 'I'm not fucking amused' by her expression.

"Anyways," Xigbar continued as he put his middle finger in his mouth to slip off his glove before placing his cold hand back on her thigh, "I thought that the three of us could have a small... Celebration before it gets too crowded. How does that sound?"

Saix slid his gloved hand from her mouth as she pursed her lips. As tempting it was to be in a threesome, was this something she really needed to be doing right now?

"You know what," Rauxdi said starting to speak loudly before Xigbar pressed a finger to her lips to quiet down.

She scowled before shrugged her shoulders, "Fuck it, why not. Just be gentle please?"

Both men flashed a wicked grin as she shrunk back in mild regret of her decision, "No promises."

* * *

Rauxdi fidgeted nervously as they moved into the men's hotel room that had the bigger master bedroom with the king-sized bed.

As the two men stood before her without their coats, she was standing in front of them completely stripped down. They were both wearing black V-neck shirts with dark grey pants and their boots.

"Anytime princess," Xigbar smirked crossing his arms over his chest as Rauxdi blushed trying not to stammer, "J-just give me a minute!"

"We've given you 20 minutes," Saix growled as he had his hands in his back pockets. Looking at them now dressed very casual where every muscle showed through their clothing, it was getting hard for Rauxdi to concentrate with both intimidating men there.

She took a deep breath before she got down on her knees in between the two of them. She almost stumbled from nervousness until Xigbar grabbed her upper arm to keep her still.

"Easy girl, it's just us," He teased as she looked up at them trying to not show my nervousness.

"Oh yeah, like the... hottest former members of Organization XIII aren't in front of me, silly me," Rauxdi said mockingly as Saix grabbed a fistful of her hair making her yelp, "Don't keep us waiting or we'll just-"

"Alright! Alright," She huffed as he let go of her hair. Rauxdi licked her lips as she started to unbutton Xigbar's pants and sliding them down to about his hips until she could see the outline of the bulge in his underwear.

She smirked as she pulled them down slowly seeing Xigbar's cock throb as it was free from its prison.

Rauxdi slowly moved her left hand over his shaft, stroking it while she concentrated on undoing Saix's pants and pulling out his length with her other hand.

She felt her face get very hot as Saix's cock sprung out from his underwear, making the pit in her stomach flutter knowing that she was actually doing this.

She grabbed the Diviner's cock with her right hand before firmly stroking them both. She bit her bottom lip trying to decide who to go for first before she leaned forward and found her hot tongue and mouth around Saix's girthy cock.

Rauxdi felt the man stifle a groan from his throat as she started to pumped his dick into her mouth.

She was a little nervous but she soon got used to sucking off both men for a little while before the other would forcefully grab her hair and face fuck her for taking too long.

Rauxdi gasped and blushed as she soon found herself entranced with the musky scent coming from both Nobodies in front of her as her blowjobs started to get sloppy.

While Rauxdi was playing a little too much attention to Saix's cock as he was now sitting on the edge of the bed being serviced, Xigbar smirked as he pulled away from her grip to move behind her bent over form.

"Hands," He grunted a command as Rauxdi obediently complied as she moved her arms back a little bit before Xigbar held her hands in place on the small of her back.

"Now let's see how you're doing," He groaned as he ran his fingers down to probe her slightly wet pussy as he inserted a finger into her.

Rauxdi moans were muffled as Saix forced her head to keep sucking him as Xigbar smirked.

"Not too bad, but not ready for any cock. Now about this one though?" Xigbar said in a teasing tone as he lightly brushed his finger against her asshole.

Rauxdi jumped a tiny bit as Xigbar massaged and slid his finger in her ass gently. She started to muffle as Xigbar leaned down to whisper, "Don't worry, it'll only hurt for a second."

Rauxdi felt vulnerable between the two men as Saix was now holding my hands down as Xigbar started to spit and brush the head of his cock against her ass.

"Fuck, you have been such a good girl. You really are desperate for our cocks," Xigbar groaned as he started to slide inch by inch into her tight ass. Rauxdi felt tears down her face as he eventually bottomed out on her.

"Oh man Saix, you should really try this out, this is like a fucking dream," Xigbar said digging his nails into Rauxdi while Saix smirked looking down at her cock sucking face.

Before she knew it, Rauxdi was gasping for air as Saix slide his cock out of her mouth as he yanked her up by her hair.

Xigbar hoisted Rauxdi up so she was sitting on his dick and her legs were dangling on either side, spread open with his arms hooking underneath her knees, leaving her cunt open as Saix gazed upon her body.

"Ah... Wait, you guys..." Rauxdi started to pant before Xigbar adjusted his arm to shove two fingers into her mouth as he growled, "Suck."

She blushed and immediately wrapped her lips around Xigbar's fingers, in such a trace that she didn't realize how close Saix was and sliding his cock against her wet cunt.

Saix leaned down to bite into her shoulder before forcefully shoving his dick into her tight entrance.

She winched and grabbed onto their arms to keep herself from falling as they started to thrust into her. Xigbar chuckled as he moved his hand to hold her ass up as they plowed into both of her holes.

"S-saix! W-wait Xigba-" Rauxdi started to moan before the blue-haired nobody forced her into a kiss biting at her lips for entry. She gasped from the sudden thrust from Xigbar that Saix shoved his tongue to explore the woman's mouth.

Rauxdi hesitated to fight back as she felt her submissive nature burning in the core of her body knowing that if either of them just walked into the room and stripped her after this, she would happily allow it.

"How does it feel? Do you enjoy letting two strong men fuck your brains out?" Xigbar whispered into her ear as she yelped when Saix moved from her mouth to her sensitive nipples.

"T-this... It feels good," Rauxdi moaned out as she arched her back trying to move away from the pleasure but Xigbar immediately brought her back down onto their cocks.

"And to think you've been stealing the slut for yourself," Saix said with a smirk as Rauxdi laughed in the heat of being turned on and taking that as a compliment.

"We can fill her up whenever we need to. We just need to ask nicely, understand Rauxdi?" Xigbar said as he moved his hand to wrap around her neck as she gasped.

"Y-yes Xigbar, I want to be the little fuck toy to serve the both of you," She whimpered as Saix smirked raking his fingers along her skin, "Such a good bitch."

Before Rauxdi could muster another word, Xigbar tightened his hand around her neck as he groaned into her ear, "Would you like it if we cum into your tight little holes, mark you as our own?"

Rauxdi felt her eyelids flutter in ecstasy from the idea as Saix leaned down to suck on her neck.

"Anything for you two."

* * *

"Xigbar? Saix? Where are those confound boys?" An older gentleman asked as he walked around the hotel hallway looking for his newly appointed vessels. "They must have had a long night," The younger Xehanort said as he gestured to the ajar hotel door.

Tucked away in the master bedroom, was two male Nobodies that were embracing their redheaded companion nuzzling against her warm body from both sides.

Rauxdi tilted her head as she slept and found its way leaning her chin against the top of Xigbar's head while her heart pounded away.

She winched a tiny bit from Saix running his hand over the new scars on her thighs that have the numbers II and VII carved into her.


	3. Fear and Regret

"Is it me or are you being more adventurous these days?" Xigbar groaned as Rauxdi looked up at him from between his legs.

"Now I don't know what you mean," She said innocently as she ran her tongue from the base to the tip of his cock.

He shuddered and chuckled, leaning forward and pulled her hood over her head, "It is definitely hard for me to control myself around you when I'm supposed to be working. Fuck I could just cut a hole in those shorts of yours and just..."

Rauxdi grinned as she heard a very loud and audible groan from the older Nobody as pushed her head down to keep sucking his cock just like he wanted it.

"If I knew I just had to get you a heart to have a higher sex drive, I would of collected more hearts immediately," Xigbar said covering his face with his hand as she pulled her cock from her mouth and nuzzled against it.

"I think that after all these years I finally realized I had one. I wonder if just dealing with Xemnas' talks just make me want to ignore all the signs of my body."

"Who knows, and speaking of men with sticks up their ass..." Xigbar's voice trailed off as she started to blush feeling someone behind her and slap her ass really hard.

"Now are you treating Xigbar well?" Rauxdi heard Saix's voice ask as he pulled her head back by her hair, "If I didn't, I think he'd punish me Saix."

"We both know he'd go easy on you," Saix smirked as he started fumbling with her shorts and yanked them down to expose her wet cunt to him.

"Did you finish your mission?" Xigbar asked the man on the other receiving end as Rauxdi squeaked when he shoved his cock into her rather forcefully.

"Do you have to be talking about missions right-" Rauxdi was silenced as Saix grabbed her head and forced her to deepthroat Xigbar's dick.

"I did manage to find him. He was... easy to please into joining us again. I just need him to make all those replicas for the others," Saix said as Rauxdi rolled her eyes back feeling Saix thrusting harder into her than usual.

"Oh, speaking of people to join us again, you are going to be shocked in who I saw the other day on my recon mission," Xigbar said with a smirk as he pulled Rauxdi's lips from his throbbing erection, a decision he realized was poor later on.

"I'm afraid to ask if it's someone I like or despise," Rauxdi grumbled as Xigbar smirked wiping the drool from his lips as he held her bottom lip open looking down at her with his golden eye.

"She's alive in Twilight Town."

* * *

"I can't believe you told her before I got off," Saix growled as Xigbar lied on the bed grumbling to himself.

"I didn't know that she would flip out like that. Maybe we should have tied her down and just fucked her unconscious," Xigbar said rolled back over as Saix crossed his arms over his chest sarcastically, "Why didn't you think of that plan earlier?"

"Because I wanted to make sure she wasn't going to bite that dick off! I was expecting a 'thank you for finding Audri' sex session for the next few hours at least," Xigbar sighed as he glanced over to the balcony that was open.

"Want to rock paper scissors to see who goes out and talk to her?" Xigbar asked as Saix shot a glare at him.

Xigbar raised his hands defense and started getting up from the bed, "Right. Cockblocker goes to comfort the girl. If I get to dick her down right now, you don't get to complain!"

Xigbar made his way over to the balcony doors before Saix beat him to open them.

_Nice to see that I'm not the only one thinking with my dick,_ Xigbar thought to himself with a smug smirk.

They both stood there looking to see Rauxdi leaning her head on the railing facing the alleyway.

"Hey Rauxdi, you wanna-" Xigbar was cut off as he saw that there were tons of bottles of beer littering the balcony they were standing on.

"Is she awake?" Saix asked annoyed as he walked over to play with her hair before Rauxdi swatted his hand away, "I'm awake. Just contemplating on what to do or say."

"Nervous?" Xigbar asked leaning against the railing as Rauxdi stood herself up groaning, "More like terrified. I tried to kill her twice in one day! What if she wants to hunt me to the ends of the universe?"

"Well, can't say I understand how you thought killing her would help," Saix said trailing his hands down from her shoulder to the small of her back.

Xigbar glared at him with daggers before speaking up, "So what's the plan? Hang out in Traverse Town being our cum dumpster until we get more orders? Or will you go out to Twilight Town and apologize to Audri?"

"I dunno. I kind of don't wanna go apologize or fuck either of you right now," Rauxdi moped as she pushed Saix's arm away.

They both looked at each other in alarm before they grabbed Rauxdi from both sides, dragging her back into the room as they slammed the balcony door.

"What are you guys-" Rauxdi was cut off as Xigbar pulled her in for an aggressive kiss while the men went straight away stripping her clothes off.

She pulled away and let out a sharp pitched yelp as she felt Saix's nails digging into her scarred thighs.

"We're just trying to make you feel better babe," Xigbar said with a smirk as his hand snaked down and his fingers brushed against her exposed clit, making the girl fidget.

She would have pulled away but with Saix right behind her, she found herself leaning against the muscular Nobody for support.

Before either of them said another word, Saix forced Rauxdi's head to the side as he kissed her. Shoving his tongue into her mouth, catching her off guard while Xigbar had plunged his fingers into her pussy.

Rauxdi let out an aggravated moan in the kiss as she felt Xigbar pulling his fingers forward, hitting against her g-spot like he was looking for something inside of her cunt.

"G-guys, please... Fucking hell," Rauxdi said in a trembling whimper as Saix left her lips to start biting into her shoulders. "What's the magic words, dear?" Xigbar said in a taunting manner, tracing his other hand along the heart-shaped scar on her chest.

"P-please fuck me. I want to be used and stuffed with your cocks," She said as a strangled moan escaped her lips as Xigbar pulled his fingers from her cunt and cupped her face with his hand. "We would love to," He growled as he pulled her up for another kiss.

* * *

"I can't believe you guys did that. Just because I said I wasn't feeling like wanting to fuck," Rauxdi blushed embarrassed as she leaned back against the pillows with Xigbar and Saix on either side of her in bed smirking.

"We... were totally thinking about our dicks," Xigbar said running his fingers over the new scars on Rauxdi's shoulder as Saix looked away trying to not agree.

"Well, I still need to figure out what to do about Audri," Rauxdi pouted nuzzling back into the pillows before they heard a dark corridor open up.

"Which Xehanort is it?" Rauxdi asked dryly as Xigbar sighed sitting up with the bed sheet resting at his hip, "The young time-traveling one."

"Oh great, just one of-" Rauxdi looked over and covered her chest seeing that both Young and Master Xehanort standing there raising their eyebrows at the naked trio.

"That's it, you lost bed privileges," Rauxdi scowled as she booted Xigbar off the bed, landing on the ground with a thud.

Xigbar jumped up from the floor already in his coat as he grinned leaning against the wall, "What pleasure do we owe both of you today?"

"We... briefly caught the conversation you were having about your... other, was it my dear?" Master Xehanort asked gesturing to Rauxdi as she sighed.

"For the sake of this conversation, yes she is my 'other' who I used to be tied to," Rauxdi said crossing her arms over her chest as Saix started getting himself dressed.

"We think we might be able to help. Plus we can always use her-"

"Hold that thought, sir. Xigbar, a moment alone please," Rauxdi threw the sheets off as she walked to the other hotel room in her panties as he followed behind like a horny puppy.

As they closed the door behind themselves, Rauxdi started making angry and frustrated faces while jabbing her finger into his chest.

"Xigbar, you have to back me up. I can't have her involved again," Rauxdi groaned as Xigbar sniggered, "You sound like the mom who doesn't want her kid to do drugs with the neighbors."

"Xigbar come on I'm serious," Rauxdi groaned in frustration, grabbing his coat looking up at him with a sincere plea on her face as he kissed her forehead, "I'll try my best. But we'll see what happens."

"Alright. If she does..."

"Don't think about it too much babe."

Rauxdi took in a deep breath as she swung the door open looking to see Saix dressed conversing with Young and Master Xehanort.

Rauxdi grabbed her crop top hoodie and zipped it uh before interrupting them. "Forgetting something dear?" Master Xehanort asked as Rauxdi realized she was in a hoodie and panties standing in front of her Superiors.

"I mean... Look, as much as I am a fan of... finding you all new vessels to take over the world, can we not turn her into one?" Rauxdi asked waggling a finger at them as they glanced at her.

Young Xehanort looked like he wanted to say something but his older self put a hand up and smiled, "Of course my dear. We'll leave her out of it but we could use her expertise on some things. At least so we can gain access to one of our vessels."

Rauxdi crossed her arms over her chest clicking her tongue against the top of her mouth. "I'm afraid to ask, but expertise on what?"


	4. The Hermit

"Thank you, come again!" I shouted with a wave as the customers leaving my shop bounced out with their supplies. I sighed leaning my elbows on the counter as I glanced around the small space I occupied.

The walls were covered in various types of flowering plants on shelves while a variety of gardening pots and supplies for people's choosing. To say that I learned how to make plants thrive all thanks to Marluxia is an understatement.

Let's take a step back. How did I get here? To be honest... I remember very little before I came to Twilight Town.

What I do remember clearly is waking up in the hospital since some locals found me out on the street bleeding to death with a giant wound. There were Heartless around looking like they were trying to keep the area around me surrounded but they were soon chased off.

The doctors were surprised that I was still alive from a hit like that. They tried to ask what happened but I couldn't budge.

What I remember before the gap in my memory is that everyone was gone except for Xenmas, Rauxdi, and myself. I briefly remember Rauxdi being there and something about a fight. But that's all I could muster once I finally left the hospital.

I still had the munny Rauxdi had given me before, so I negotiated a deal with some townsfolk to open a medical plant shop since I was sick and tired of buying potions from the one vendor in town. They agreed, I managed to snag a place with a shop and a bedroom apartment attached to it.

After my wounds started to heal up, I found a Possessor Heartless had found its way into my home as it attached itself to some old pots I scavenged from the Old Mansion. He didn't seem to threaten me, so I let it stay for the company.

With all that happened and all the unsettled emotions in my heart, I buried my feelings deep down inside of me trying to smile and not let the past come to the surface. 

I closed my eyes as I brushed my bangs away, realizing I don't remember how much time it's been since I woke up. In the end, I've been all alone.

I heard the bell ring as the front door to the shop opened, making me open my eyes as I smiled to see three of the locals looking at me.

"We're back from delivering that soil for you Ms Blanca!" Hayner said with a grin on his face as Olette and Pence followed him into the small store.

"Thanks guys, I really appreciate that you guys help me from time to time on your days off from school. Which by the way, you guys having any trouble with classes?" I asked with a warm while as they shook their head.

"Not at all! But we do appreciate helping you after all the stuff you've gone through!" Pence said before the other two friends glared at him realizing what he said. I waved my hand dismissing the comment as I rolled my eyes, "Easy kids. My old person heart can't take your offensive comments."

They looked at me worried before I laughed shaking my head, "Relax! It's all in the past, and besides... Shouldn't we all be working towards your future?"

Pence nodded as Hayner came up to the counter grinning, "Speaking of work, can we get paid now?"

I raised my eyebrow before snorting, "Come on guys, if you stopped buying sea salt ice cream, you'd have money saved up for a trip to the beach. Next thing I need is you guys working the streets as prostitutes, which... God I hope you're not old enough to do-"

"W-we're not that old, and we wouldn't do that!" Olette stammered as a blush rose to her face. "Sorry, started rambling again and making you all uncomfortable," I said as I flicked my finger and a small pouch flew out of the cupboard and dropped onto the counter in front of them.

"Here's the munny you guys earned for this errand. Come back next week and I'll try to find something else for you kids to do."

The teens cheered as Hayner snatched up the back turning around, "Thanks Ms Blanca! And you're not old for a 20 something! You could be my sister!"

Pence and Olette waved goodbye as they took off out of the shop. I chuckled and muttered under my breath, "Kid, I don't think you want me as a sister... But now that's done with, I should start cleaning up."

As I jumped over the counter, I landed gracefully on my feet as I dusted my soil-covered clothes as I started rearranging the plants on the wall. I made my way outside of my room and put my hand over my eyes as I looked out at the beautiful sky above me.

I took in a deep breath as I grabbed the broom outside of the doorway sweeping away the trail of soil from the kids' feet while I heard a clattering noise to my left.

I looked up and saw an elderly man wearing what looked like a large leather trench coat, white gloves, a button-up shirt with dark pants and boots.

It looked like he was trying to save a potted plant from where he knocked it off the shelf. He looked over at me as his gold-amber eyes looked up at me with a twinkle.

"Can I help you sir?" I asked walking over to him as he placed the plant back on the shelf.

I glanced over to see that he was putting the Forget-Me-Nots back in their place. "Ah, yes! Are you the shop owner? This is quite a collection you have here," He said with a smile as he crossed his hands behind his back.

"Yes I am, Ms Blanca at your service. Looking for anything in particular?" I asked as I stood there trying to not sweep while a customer was present.

"Well yes, I am actually requesting your help with something. It's just a small thing really," He said as he looked at me with a grin as I nodded, "Sure! What would it be?"

"Have you heard of something called Kingdom Hearts?"

I felt my blood run cold for a second as I saw the look on his face change from sincere to something... complex.

"Ah... No, I don't think so. Is that a type of royal species plant?" I asked tightening my grip around the broom as he chuckled, "Not exactly. It's something out of a fairy tale really. But I believe that it can-"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I snapped as I felt the broom handle cracking in my hands.

"Oh but I think you do my dear," He said as he took a step forward reaching his hand out to me, "There is some business we need to discuss but I don't think we should do it here."

"Listen you old coot, why don't you just fuc-"

"I told you she was going to be hostile. Why did you think sweet-talking her was going to work?" A female voice said behind me as I closed my eyes tightly.

I turned around slowly before I saw a familiar redhead standing there crossing her arms as she wore a black hoodie and red shorts.

"Audri, it's been a while hasn't it?" Rauxdi said sheepishly as I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

"You... Rauxdi... Where the hell have you been?" I started to say as she held her hand out before she spoke, "Look... I'm sorry for what happened at the Castle. But we need your expertise with the Heartless to help us out."

"Why should I?" I asked as I felt the broom in my hands shatter into pieces as I broke the handle with my grip.

Rauxdi flinched for a second before she sighed, "Because being as what you are, I think you could help with what Master Xeha-"

"Fuck off. I'm not taking orders anymore."

"Well, I tried to ask nicely," Rauxdi said with a shrug before she summoned her gauntlets and...

"Is that my lance!?" I barked as I saw a metal lance appear in Rauxdi's hands. Now that I think about it, I haven't been able to summon anything other than heartless lately.

"Might be, could be because I stole it from you back then," Rauxdi said as she started to point the lance at my chest like she was going to strike.

"Rauxdi! Stand down before you cause a damn mess!" Another voice echoed as I turned to see a dark corridor open.

My eyes widened as I saw Xigbar walking through with that cocky grin on his face.

"We got you surrounded kiddo. And don't think about calling that Possessor attached to your shop to come and help you. We just want to talk is all," Xigbar said as he walked over with his hands raised to show he had nothing up his sleeves.

He looked over to Rauxdi, who looked hesitant but she unsummoned her weapons to show that they meant no harm.

I just took a deep breath before I smiled at the three of them, "You must think I'm a fucking idiot."

With that said, I snapped my fingers and the broom handle was patched back together with dark energy as I jumped onto it and flew past Rauxdi.

I took for the skies over Twilight Town hoping to slip away before they chased after me.

"That idiot. I should have knocked her down when I had the chance," Rauxdi said flashing a glare in Xigbar's direction as Master Xehanort snapped his fingers.

"No worries. Vanitas!" He called out as a dark corridor opened up and a black figure flew out into the air chasing after the witch.

* * *

As I could see the clock tower in sight, I started to slowly make my descent. The next thing I knew, I felt something hit my back, spinning me out of control on my broom.

I held onto the broom and looked around quickly, seeing a figure riding a red and black object coming straight at me with another dark energy ball in his hands.

"Fucking- wait!" I shouted trying to put my hands up before the figure shot another round of energy blasts at me.

I covered my face with my arms before getting hit. Getting knocked off the broom, I fell a good five stories before I summoned a horde of Shadow heartless to cushion my fall.

Crashing through the mass of dark creatures, I found myself landing in front of the train station. I felt the Heartless starting to dissipate as I saw bright hearts floating around me all of a sudden.

"What a neat little trick," I heard a male voice hiss before I felt something kick me rather hard in my sides.

I groaned, rolling in pain on the floor as the figure stood in front of me holding his gear-shaped keyblade to my chest.

"Sorry my dear, but this is something you can't escape from," I heard another voice speak as I turned slowly to see Rauxdi, Xigbar, and the old man coming out from a dark corridor.

"Vanitas, heel." The old man said as I whipped my head around to see the masked figure pull his keyblade away from my chest and crossing his arms over his chest, annoyed like he wasn't able to land a final blow.

"We just want to talk. There's some stuff we want to... fill you in on and see if you can help," Rauxdi said cautiously walking over to me as I slowly got up to my feet.

I could feel something inside of me starting to burn in fear as my eyes flickered with harsh judgment towards the intruding group.


	5. The Abrupt Truth

"The... X-blade?" I asked glancing around at Xehanort, Xigbar, and Rauxdi as we sat outside of Le Grand Bistrot in Twilight Town.

They managed to sucker me into hearing their story by coaxing me from not running away with free food and drinks.

"Precisely my dear. Many years ago the Keyblade War was something that the masters of the time made happen without realizing that the darkness was overtaking them all. They were filled with so much greed in their hearts to have the light for themselves to protect," The old man, who introduced himself as Master Xehanort started to speak up.

"There was a legendary blade that is able to bring immense power to the wielder and I plan to use it to set things right," Master Xehanort explained as I put down my cup of coffee looking over at Rauxdi and Xigbar as they were enjoying their pints of beer.

"You have to be fucking kidding me. You guys are believing this guy?" I asked pointing my fingers at Master Xehanort across the table from me as Rauxdi sighed.

"Audri, I thought he was full of shit too. But I totally get where he's coming from. Have you seen all the madness in the worlds? There's too much darkness taking over and it needs to be rebalanced."

"Why does the tone in your voice sound like you don't believe in it," I asked raising my eyebrow as Rauxdi gritted her teeth.

"Ease up on the catfight ladies," Xigbar said reaching over to grab Rauxdi's hand giving it a squeeze.

She looked away from my orange-golden eyes to finish her beer before I glanced over at the Freeshooter.

"I forgot that she's been hanging around you. You're the guy full of really bad conspiracy theories already," I said grumbling into my coffee as Master Xehanort sipped his tea.

"What exactly do you want me to do if I did help you your weird... whatever this is," I asked gesturing my arms to the individuals at the table as Xehanort smirked.

"I need your help to dive further into my research regarding the darkness in hearts as well as more on this... heartless necromancy I have been informed on."

"After that Heartless you let loose a couple of months ago in Port Royal, I mentioned it to Master Xehanort here. He sounded very impressed with your work to create a Heartless of that monstrosity," Xigbar said with a smirk as I gazed down at the table in front of me.

I could feel my fingers rubbing circles on the wood grain in front of me.

"Will you do it my dear?" Master Xehanort asked, whipping my attention to look up at him while I bit my tongue.

"I... am skeptical about all of this. But I could help, but something happened to me since the Castle. I can't tap into any of my powers without going out of control. I can't even make corridors to teleport anymore," I confessed as Rauxdi glanced over at me with worry on her face.

"Hm, that is quite a predicament. I wonder if there is something deep in your heart or your memory that is holding you back?" Xigbar asked as he leaned across the table to look at me.

"Maybe she's still mad at me about what happened at the Castle... I mean, I did almost try to kill you one time too many," Rauxdi said as I laughed half-heartedly.

"I'm over that. I get it, you guys didn't want me in the way of you all taking the glory to kick Sora's ass," I said as Rauxdi looked at me in surprise.

"Actually, I thought you would be mad at Rauxdi throwing you off the top of the Castle," Xigbar stated glancing over at Rauxdi as she shot him a quick glare.

I chuckled before shaking my head, "What are you guys talking about? I mean... Sure, I had nightmares recently about getting stabbed of Rauxdi and falling to my death, but that didn't really..."

Silence went across the entire table until I stood up slamming my hands on the table.

"YOU TRIED TO KILL ME A SECOND TIME?!" I shouted looking at Rauxdi as she jumped up from her chair.

"H-hey! I couldn't help it! I had to make sure that if you died, you didn't go up into Kingdom Hearts," She said slowly backing away as Xehanort stated something to someone coming out of the corner of my eye.

"What type of bullshit logic is that?! Why would my heart go up to Kingdom Hearts?!" I started to snarl as I felt the darkness wrapped around my hands and transformed them into darkness-filled claws.

"Because you're a Heartless!" Rauxdi snapped as I felt something snap inside of me.

It felt like something was echoing inside of my chest, like something wanted to break free as I heard Rauxdi's words ring in my head.

_A Heartless..._

_There's no way that I..._

_I'm me, I'm not a damn Heartless..._

I shook my head as I felt the pressure in my chest starting to burst as I felt my hands crackle with power.

"DON'T SPOUT BULLSHIT LIKE THAT!" I shouted before a small dome covered the area we were standing.

"Hold on-"

I felt my hands pulled behind my back as Xigbar shoved my head against the table, "Easy girlie! We can't have you killing comrades."

I tried to struggle against Xigbar's grip but it was to no avail. I could feel the heavyweight in my chest starting to scream in pain.

I heard a clatter of a cup being placed next to my head as I turned my head slightly to see Master Xehanort looking down at me with curiosity sparkling in his eyes.

"It seems that whatever Xemnas did when you last encountered had you tap into your darkness."

I just looked at him with ragged breath as I could feel the pressure in my chest started flicking with my emotions all over the place. Master Xehanort slowly stood up from his seat as he leaned over my restrained form.

"It looks like the darkness had been building up for so long. While you were facing many conflicting emotions, it seems you have lost control with these newfound power," He explained as he placed his gloved hand to widen my eye as he looked into it like he was trying to find a way into my heart.

"Please..." I started to say as I could feel my body starting to tremble as tears welled in my eyes. I could feel a piercing pain in my chest like I was getting split in half.

"Please help me control the darkness. I... I will do whatever you want, I just... I just want to be normal again."

He pulled his hand away as he gestured to Xigbar to let me go.

I slowly stood up from the table as Rauxdi stood there looking over at me with regret on her face.

"You won't be the same as before my dear. I can't help you defeat it, but I know of someone who could help you control and channel that darkness," Master Xehanort said as I slowly nodded, looking to see my hands were scratched up but back to normal.

"Master Xehanort, we can handle it from here," Rauxdi said as he glanced at the Nobodies in front of him.

The dome dissipated as I saw that a silver-haired young man was standing by with a teal and black keyblade in his hand as he walked over to Master Xehanort.

I winced as I could feel the strangest urge towards his weapon and my heart trembling in fear.

"I will take my leave. Stick by these two, and please invite yourself to work anytime," He said with a smile as the two disappeared through a dark corridor.

I just pulled my chair from the ground to prop it back up as I saw Rauxdi and Xigbar sitting back down. The three of us sat in silence before I spoke up.

"How long... How did you find out about this about me?" I asked as I glanced up at the two Nobodies as a look of concern washed over Rauxdi's face.

"Saix gave me a mild hint while he was strangling me to death calling me a traitor," Rauxdi huffed as I glanced over at her with a dull glare, "See? Being killed by someone you know isn't fun is it?"

"Ladies, come on." Xigbar said looking between the two of us as we looked away from each other.

"So... How did this happen? How come I never noticed this before?" I asked as Xigbar tapped his fingers on the table.

"Well... If we think about it, your foster mom did give us insight about you dying when you were born. Maybe before your heart could be released to make a pureblood heartless since you died naturally, your body was like 'fuck this, I'm up' and you came back?"

I just raised an eyebrow at him before Rauxdi shrugged, "It isn't unheard of with a Heartless being strong enough to manifest a human form or possess one. Master Xehanort explained something about his own Heartless being some type of hunky beefcake wanting to ruin the world."

"I doubt the old man called himself a 'hunky beefcake' Rauxdi," I said with a slight chuckle on my lips as she shrugged.

"What is weird is that you didn't show any massive signs of darkness until that fight on top of the Castle Rauxdi explained to me. It's kind of like you had a clog in your pipes which let some power out. But then it went out of whack spraying everywhere and causing destruction," Xigbar said rubbing his chin as I leaned back groaning.

"So maybe that doesn't make me a Heartless! Maybe I'm just a human full of darkness that is a ticking time bomb!" I shouted slamming my hands on the table as Rauxdi and Xigbar glanced at each other shrugging.

"Could be the case too! But we can't be too sure," Xigbar said crossing his arms over his chest before Rauxdi forced out a cough.

"Well... If we wanted to, we can ask Vexen to do some tests?" Rauxdi said glancing to her empty pint on the table as I raised my eyebrow, "Vexen is alive?"


	6. Finding the Connection

"Oh great, you imbeciles are still alive," Vexen groaned as Xigbar, Rauxdi, and I walked out of a dark corridor to find ourselves in Castle Oblivion.

"Nice to see you too Vexen," Rauxdi said sarcastically as Xigbar placed a hand on my head, "We need your help with something quick. We'll get out of your hair immediately."

"What do you want? You know I am a busy man dealing with Xehanort's vessels," He growled as I stepped forward putting my hands on my hips, "Vexen, these two are telling me that I'm a Heartless. Can you do some tests and-"

"You are wasting my time with such trivial knowledge? Of course you are a Heartless Audri! A top tier one for the fact that you look human, but you are still impeccably dull in the head," He said turning around as I stood there in surprise.

"What..." I started to say before Xigbar snorted, "How do you think Xemnas, Saix and I knew?"

"You mean... You could have told me the entire time? Is that why you did all those tests on me?!" I shouted as the older Nobody glared back at me with golden eyes.

"The fact that you are learning this now means that something is going on with your powers. Besides, you never showed an extensive amount of power for me to feel threatened and letting you know," Vexen commented as he pulled a body onto the table in front of him.

"I'm going to kill him," Rauxdi growled as Xigbar grabbed her shoulder, "Easy Rauxdi. Audri, we're taking our leave."

"I... But... Okay Xigbar," I said turning around about to walk towards them before an ice wall came between me and the other Nobodies.

"What in the fuck Vexen?!" I shouted over the walls as he replied, "Saix already passed on the message from Xehanort that you can't control your powers. You will be staying in there until you can get out of there without destroying my work."

"Xigbar! Rauxdi?" I shouted as I saw them on the other side of the wall making a dark corridor.

"Don't worry, we got some other stuff to take care of. Head back home once you're finished here," Xigbar said with a thumbs up as I shouted slamming on the ice barrier, "Wait! Don't leave me you assholes!"

As the dark corridor opened up, I could see Rauxdi glancing over at me without a word as Xigbar followed behind her.

"You... You assholes," I started to say quietly as I could feel my rage subside slowly as my hands were starting to get bruised and frostbite.

"I see that you still haven't controlled that temper of yours," Vexen sneered from the other side of the ice as I leaned against the wall looking up at the ceiling.

"I've been working on it. I was happy and not losing control for a good while actually. But it kind of happened after you guys got eliminated," I started to say as I closed my eyes as Vexen shook his head working on the human models in front of him.

"What changed?" He asked nonchalantly as I grinned sliding down the wall to lie on the floor, "I started getting laid."

"I regret asking," Vexen said knocking on the wall as I looked over at him, "I mean seriously Vexen, I fell in love with Luxord."

"You fell in love with _that_ man? The man that basically owns your ass if anyone loses to him? Are you sure it was love? You know that we can't reciprocate love," Vexen growled as he turned away from me as I opened my eyes slowly.

I placed my hand over my heart as I smiled, "Well it felt like love to me. Even if he was a Nobody, the feeling was real."

Vexen didn't respond for a while as I slowly sat up and crossed my legs as I looked around the ice barrier.

"I think... Part of me started losing control once everyone starting to disappear. It's like... Organization XIII became my second family and held all the broken pieces together. Once Luxord was eliminated by Sora and his friends..."

I felt my hands pull my legs to my chest as I breathed heavily, "It's like he was the biggest piece holding me together. In the end, I am a child that depended on too many people to keep me happy."

"That's because you are a child Audri." Vexen said as he had his back still to me as I looked over at him.

"You were a child when Xemnas picked you up and you grew slowly on the outside but not on the inside. If it makes you feel better, I've seen you do a lot of growing on the inside just in the last few minutes," He said as he pulled a potion to drink the contents before tossing it to the side.

I felt a smile find its way onto my face as I felt a tingling sensation fill my chest, "Thanks for the ego boost Vexen. I think I'm ready to try this... Whatever I'm supposed to do."

"Good, now don't destroy the lab for Hearts' sake. I have lots of work to finish here for Xehanort," Vexen spat with an annoyed tone as I slowly stood up from my place on the floor.

I rubbed my hands together before shaking them out to my sides, like I was ready to do some stretches.

_Okay, let's give this a go._ I thought to myself as I started to tap into the darkness I could feel residing in my heart.

I could feel the flicker burst in my chest as I felt the ice started to crack at a violent speed.

"Shit!" I said as I crossed my arms over my chest like I was trying to contain the darkness from overflowing as another wall was put up immediately by Vexen who was shouting, "It's all about control! Focus Audri on what helps you stay in control."

"Easy for you to say!" I shouted not in anger but just for him to hear me. As he turned away to get back to his work, I sat on the floor again as I laid my hands out in front of me.

_Come on, it can't be that hard_, I thought to myself trying to lightly tap into the darkness again. I gasped in pain as I felt a sudden jolt of pain run through my veins as the ground beneath me started to shatter.

"Fuck that one hurt," I groaned as I found myself lying back on the ground feeling my muscles spasm from the second attempt. "Guess you'll be here for a while," Vexen said outloud as I raised my arm slowly to give him the bird.

* * *

I crossed my legs as I found myself sitting on the floor. I could feel the chilly breeze from the ice walls starting to brush over my bloodied arms as they started getting ripped from the pressure coming from my body.

_It's like my body can't contain it properly, or maybe I need to form it so it isn't just raw energy_, I thought to myself as I brushed my fingers along the open wounds, smearing the blood around. 

As I closed my eyes, I started to focus on deep breathing before I slowly brought my hands up and rested on my knees.

_Now... __I shouldn't fear the darkness or the Heartless, _I thought to myself as I could feel something inside of me trying to escape.

There was a pain in my chest as I sat there, trying to break the lock I forced over my heart as the darkness spilling out was too much to contain. I could feel my body screaming in pain as more cuts started ripping at the skin.

"Please... Just listen to me for once," I said in a hushed whisper, speaking more to myself as I could feel the darkness starting to pool inside of my heart.

_You're just an extension of me that's tired of being trapped... You want an escape like I do,_ I thought to myself as the throbbing pain started to pang in response to my question. My body started to become numb to the pain as I focused.

"How about if you help me? I can use some guidance in understanding myself more... I'll let you out but it's your choice", I said out loud as I heard something shuffling around me.

Before another word came to my mind, I heard the clattering of chains behind me.

I opened my eyes slowly, trying to keep my breathing steady as I glanced behind me. I smiled at the gigantic heartless glaring down at me as I could hear a growling noise coming from its throat.

"You're just a beautiful as I thought you were. I'm sorry that I'm useless, can you show me the way?" I said as I stood up to face the heartless as its tail whipped around and its claws tapped the floor.

"How is your progress coming along?" Vexen asked outloud, his back turned to me as I gestured to the ice wall behind me.

"Just fine, be out in a second!" I said as I moved to the side of the heartless as it started to charge a fireball with its tail to melt the ice.

Vexen fidgeted as he could feel the sudden heat hitting his back before he turned around.

"My word, what is that?" He gasped in astonishment as I grinned stroking the Heartless' dark pink whiskers protruding from its head, "You like? I think I'm going to call her Hyde."

* * *

Young Xehanort exhaled through his nose as he walked through the dark corridor. He was annoyed as he found himself having to bring the Heartless girl home.

He didn't like the idea after seeing her aggressive behavior back in Twilight Town. If he didn't cast that barrier, who knows what type of damage would have come to the town?

After seeing how his older self managed to talk her down, he was a little surprised to see that she was able to bring herself back to center as quickly as her tempered flared up.

_Is this girl really worth all the trouble? To have another common ally towards our goal?_ He thought to himself as he finally stepped through the end of the corridor finding himself in Castle Oblivion.

He realized that he could smell the scent of overwhelming darkness in the deeper levels of the castle. The smell was so intoxicating that it made his raise his eyebrows in curiosity.

"What is going on down there?" He muttered to himself as he quickly made another corridor to slip down to Vexen's laboratory.

Before he had a chance to speak, he found himself looking at a giant Heartless, a four-legged creature with massive pink tendrils coming out from its face and head like spikes.

It suddenly spun its head towards his direction and he could see the glowing yellow eyes seeping into the darkness as it faded into the shadows.

What disturbed him the most was the fact that the overwhelming darkness has not dissipated with the massive creature.

He glanced around, adjusting his eyes before he could see Vexen talking to the girl who was sitting on a chair as he seemed to be examining her.

From what he could see, her appearance had changed drastically. She had bloodied scars all along her arms, her white hair had grown drastically that it looked like an unkempt mess.

She was still wearing her clothes from earlier, a soil-covered hoodie and leggings with white sneakers.

Young Xehanort pulled himself together before he walked over, trying to fight off her enticing darkness as he came up to them. Vexen was the first to notice his presence and bowed to him nervously, "Young Master. What brings you here?"

"I'm here to pick up the girl and take her home. Assuming she still can't make corridors without blowing something up," He replied in a cocky tone as the girl suddenly pulled her hair up into a ponytail as she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth in annoyance.

"It's like no one has any confidence in me. What a pain in the ass," She grumbled under her breath as Young Xehanort started to grind his teeth, already irked by her attitude. Vexen turned to her and hissed, "Mind your tongue Audri!"

The Heartless girl Audri just smirked as she glanced away as she tightened her hair in a small band, "Oh please, this guy isn't my boss Vexen. Why should I be a goody-two-shoes around him?"

That comment made Young Xehanort decide it was time to show her who she was messing with.

He summoned his keyblade as he held it against her shoulder, digging the hilt of the weapon into her exposed neck. He forcefully grabbed her chin making him look up at him as he saw those antagonizing golden-orange eyes looking up at him.

"Don't think I won't hesitate to kill you where you stand," He growled as Audri's expression changed. As her icy glare melted, the gaze turned into a playful look as she snorted in surprise.

"Lay off kiddo, you don't scare me with the keyblade," Audri said in a mocking tone as he grabbed his blade and ran her fingers along the cool metal on the blade.

"Audri, silence!" Vexen said trying to keep her from being anymore defiant in front of Young Xehanort but the keyblade master held his hand up to his subordinate to quiet him.

A small smirk crossed his face as Young Xehanort could feel the overwhelming darkness pulsing from her heart as he stood in front of her. It was like it was pulling him into a tight grip where he didn't want to leave. The darkness was comforting and accustoming to his own.

"I guess I have spoken too soon. Do you still need someone to take you home?" Young Xehanort asked, dropping his hand as the keyblade disappeared from his grasp.

Audri looked up at him as he tried to figure out what expression hidden behind her eyes before she glanced away, "Sure thing. As long as you give a better explanation than old man Xehanort."

"I'll try my best. I apologize as we both have a habit of rambling every single detail out. It's in our blood," He said, feeling himself warming up to the darkness-leaking girl in front of him.

"Lead the way?" She asked meekly as she stood up from the chair Vexen had her in as he asked her to finish one last test for him.

* * *

"Thanks for that... explanation Xehanort," I said with a smile as the dark corridor closed behind me.

"I hope it gives you more insight on our plans, and that hopefully we can use your experience with the Heartless to dive deeper into this research for us," Young Xehanort said with a beaming smile on his face as we stood outside of my flower shop.

It was well past midnight at this point, seeing that most of the day I spent trying to regain some control over my powers while freezing to death, all thanks to Vexen.

"Anything else you need from me while you're still here?" I asked while I unlocked the front door to see everything was where I left it.

"I think I do have one question, but it's more for my own curiosity," He said as he followed me into the dimly lit flower shop. I turned around to look up at his dark golden eyes as his gaze cut through me.

"Go ahead?"

"What are your powers? I... tried asking Xigbar, Saix, and the Nobody girl, but no one can give me a straight answer," Young Xehanort said as I could feel the fear crawl its way into my heart as I could see the serious look back on his face.

I started to open my mouth before placing my fingers on my lips. A moment of silence passed before I shrugged, sighing in defeat.

"Xehanort, I have to be honest: I haven't been successful with my powers in a very long time. From all I know, it's like... I can find myself in other worlds, but..." I started to trail off as I could see his interest was provoked.

"Do you mind showing me?" He asked as I flinched seeing him suddenly holding his hand out. I looked up at him as I crossed my hands across my chest instead.

"I don't know how it works. What if..."

"Trust me."

That sentence leaving his lips made a burst of warm air running through my body as I grabbed his hand.

"Not my fault if you get injured," I said nervously as I saw the alerted look on his face before I closed my eyes trying to focus.

Next thing I knew, I was standing in absolute darkness. _Kind of reminds me when I first did this with Zexion_, I thought to myself with a smile as I started walking forward.

I could hear the rushing noise of seagulls and crashing waves starting to echo throughout the air.

I kept walking forward, hearing everything starting to get louder, booming in my eardrums until-

_SPLASH_

I found myself surrounded by fish and submerged in water. I panicked, feeling myself starting to feel the water pressure pushing me down. I felt something rub against my leg and I let out a panicked yelp, realizing my mistake.

But I found myself being able to breathe just fine. I adjusted my eyes as I started swimming towards the surface, unsure what is happening but taking it with a grain of salt that I'm not going to die by drowning.

As I broke the surface, I gasped as I found myself surrounded by massive buildings on these scattered islands.

I glanced to see a nearby port to the closest island, taking a chance to swim towards it and see what was going on.

I crawl onto the surface and groaned as I lied onto the marble platform as I tried to take a break. I raised my hand over my eyes as I looked up at the beautiful blue sky.

"Wherever I am, this is an amazing place," I said slowly as I could hear footsteps coming towards me. I slowly raised myself to a sitting position before I saw a gloved hand reaching out of the corner of my eye.

"Well well, looks like you found something I thought I locked away deep in my heart," I heard the familiar male voice ring out as I looked up to see Young Xehanort. Or a younger version of Young Xehanort.

I raised my eyebrow as I drank in his appearance seeing that instead of the Organization XIII cloak I saw him in.

He was wearing a sleeveless coat decorated in ornate decorations and color all along the coat trim. He wore a high turtleneck muscle shirt with silver belts crossed over his chest and a pair of grey pants with boots.

What caught me off guard the most was the fact that his eyes were not the twisted golden color I'm used to seeing. His eyes were silver.

"Going to just stare or going to get up?" Young Xehanort asked all of a sudden that it threw me off as I reached for his hand reluctantly.

"Don't have to be a jerk about it," I grumbled as I rose to my feet as he smirked.

"Where... Is this exactly?" I started to ask as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's... I don't think it's necessary to explain where you are since this place is well beyond gone, but now that I've experienced your powers..."

He started to explain before he jabbed his finger at my chest. I felt a sudden jolt of pain running through my chest like something was trying to pull me forward.

"I have an idea on how we can use you," Young Xehanort said with a smirk as I suddenly felt myself becoming drowsy and I collapsed.

* * *

Young Xehanort opened his eyes as he heard a small _thud_. He looked down at his feet to see Audri collapsed to his feet as they were standing in the middle of her flower shop.

He leaned down, stroking the wisps of white hair from her face as her breathing was ragged as her hands clutched onto the phantom purple chain protruding from her chest.

Young Xehanort smirked as he brushed his fingers along the chain as the other end of her chain was sticking out of his chest.

"What a unique power, being able to step into people's hearts in a dream-like state..." He said to himself quietly as the chain started disappearing and Audri started to slowly open up her eyes in a dazed state. She looked up at him with tears running down her face as he knelt beside her.

"You have an important job ahead of you," Young Xehanort whispered cupping Audri's tear-stained cheeks as he looked down at her like a precious metal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the missed update that was supposed to go up a few days ago. I've had family visiting from out of town and I had an emotional breakdown on Sunday. My brain was so thrown off by my own anxieties that I forgot to post on Sunday.  
That's what being burnt out does. If any of you follow "the Historian" (the other fanfiction that I'm working on), I will have that up next Monday due to being a little behind because of said relatives visiting. Never getting a moment alone is hard.


	7. Sleeping Beauties

"What is that?!" Rauxdi screamed as she ran out of my shop as Xigbar stood outside shaking his head.

"I told you guys this was a bad idea," He said with a snort as I came outside with a cheesy grin on my face.

"I did what you wanted and managed to mostly control my darkness. It just... you know, formed into a Dark Hide. Right Hyde?" I said with a smile as a sudden growling came from the shadow at my feet as Rauxdi jumped into Xigbar's arms.

"This is weird and great for you Audri, but also I'm aroused by Rauxdi jumping into my arms," Xigbar said with a grin as I rolled my eyes.

"So what brings you guys out this way?" I asked as Xigbar smirked, "Aside from checking on you, we wanted to let you know that Master Xehanort requests our presence to put his heart in the final piece of his True Organization XIII."

The smile dropped from my face as I groaned, "Please tell me that's not what he's calling it."

"We are actually known as the Seekers of Darkness," I heard a voice behind me as the corridor opened up.

"Ah, right. And you're the... Time Traveling Xehanort... Dear god I need a flowchart to get you all straight," I said with a grin on my face as he nodded.

"And you're the idiot of a pureblood Heartless, but let's not get into the details," Young Xehanort said as he started walking past me and into the flower shop.

"Can I just hit him. Just once Xigbar? He's pissing me off and I haven't seen him in over a month," I said shaking my fist as Xigbar laughed sliding his hands down to Rauxdi's ass.

"Easy tiger. Let's just focus on the work at hand. Mostly since we don't know what type of mess is going to happen."

Rauxdi raised an eyebrow before slipping from Xigbar's arms heading towards the front door, "It sounds like you know what we're planning to do today, but I know I won't get any straight answers."

I just sighed as I glanced around for a second, "Saix and Vexen said they were going to meet with us soon?" Xigbar nodded as Rauxdi disappeared into the shop.

"They were running behind on some last-minute preparations for today. This is our only shot, so we have to make this count," The Sharpshooter explained as the both of us went into the shop.

I locked the front door to the shop and started closing the curtains as I looked around the room. Standing and leaning against the furniture was Young Xehanort, Rauxdi and Xigbar. I took a deep breath as I clapped my hands together, "Guys are you sure I can pull this off?"

"Not at all," Young Xehanort said as Rauxdi snorted in amusement from his answer. I felt my confidence shudder as Xigbar sighed tapping his gloved hand against his chest, "This is why we're having so much back up just in case one of our connections gets severed."

"Rauxdi is staying on the outside to make sure everything is going smoothly while we're all under, is that right?" I asked glancing over at the redhead Nobody as she shifted uneasily on her feet.

"Exactly. Vexen and Rauxdi will be making sure how your progress is going. We're going to have to do this in increments to be on the safe side," I heard another male voice speak up as the four of us turned to see Saix and Vexen walking out of a dark corridor with two hooded figures following behind them.

I could feel the tension become suffocating in the air as Xigbar smirked, "I guess we're all here then. Saix, you're on guard duty for these folks out here just in case." Saix sighed as he nodded crossing his arms over his chest.

"Ready whenever you are Audri," Rauxdi said as I walked out in the middle of the room. I laughed nervously before I clapped my hands together, rubbing them for some friction as I closed my eyes. "Get ready to catch the guys," I muttered under my breath before I exhaled deeply.

As everyone in the space held their breath, two phantom chains burst from Audri's chest and suddenly lunged themselves at both Young Xehanort and Xigbar, piercing their chests with a blunt force.

Their eyes both widened for a second in surprise before the chains turned a deep purple and they started to doze off. Rauxdi and Saix caught the two men from collapsing to the ground before he gently rested them against the wall.

"This is... excellent research material," Vexen muttered under his breath as he walked towards Audri's meditating state as she seemed to be in a trace. With her eyes closed and her faint breathing, you would assume she fell asleep standing up.

Rauxdi nodded for a moment as she bit her bottom lip.

_If it wasn't for Audri's ability, they wouldn't have come up with this hair brain scheme to dive into one of the keyblade hero's hearts. But to do it at such a distance when we don't know where they are..._

Rauxdi's thoughts were cut off as she glanced over to the two hooded Organization XIII members who were standing by observing the scene.

She could feel an icy glare cutting through her soul as she glanced away to look at Xigbar and Young Xehanort's sleeping forms.

_This better work, _She thought to herself as she felt Saix gesturing to her to follow him further into Audri's tiny apartment.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm on watching duty," I moaned quietly to myself as Xigbar was perched next to me as we looked down at Twilight Town.

The good news is that I didn't fuck anything up.

Bad news is that I can barely contain my powers split between two people as Young Xehanort said he was going on without us.

The further Young Xehanort dives deeper into the heart he told me to track down, the harder it was to hold onto his line.

It felt like I was trying to keep a thin thread from breaking. I felt Xigbar clap a hand onto my shoulder as he smiled, "Ease up girlie. We already had implanted the seed way before our time. We just want to make sure that it takes root."

I nodded as I could feel the sweat on my brow as I leaned on my knees to hold onto the neon sign.

"So glad we're doing this in short increments. Who are those other folks Vexen and Saix brought along?" I asked as he laughed, "Wouldn't you like to know. Oh, look who's back!"

I glanced to my side as I saw a dark corridor open up and Young Xehanort standing there with a satisfied grin on his face.

"Are we done here?"

"Of course," He said with a smile as he pulled me up to my feet and I felt an overwhelming pain shoot through me as I felt everything going black. 

* * *

"You can't be serious," Rauxdi hissed as her and Saix were standing in Audri's kitchen as he nodded glancing over at her.

"Orders are orders. Just play nice and it'll be fine." Saix said coldly as Rauxdi walked over to him grabbing the front of his coat, "Easy for you to say! He's also the one who called me out as a traitor."

Saix exhaled out of his nose in annoyance before he grabbed Rauxdi's wrists to pull her off of his jacket. She flinched as he leaned down and nibbled on her ear.

"Just stop making a commotion and get over it," He whispered as Rauxdi felt the heat rushing to her cheeks. She was about to retort back but they both heard Vexen shouting from the other room for them.

"Sounds like they're back."

I opened my eyes and gasped in surprise as I held my chest as I stood in the middle of the room seeing Xigbar and Young Xehanort slowly getting up on their feet.

"How did it go? Was it a success?" Vexen asked as he rushed over to grab my face and check my pupils to see how my condition was.

"It was a brilliant success. We just need Audri to withstand a few more trips and we'll be accompanied by a new vessel," Xigbar said with a smirk as I put my hand on Vexen's sleeve, trying to pull him away from inspecting me any further.

"Who... exactly are we trying to recruit with this bizarre tactic?" Rauxdi asked as she glanced over from the counter she was sitting on.

Young Xehanort had a smirk on his face before one of the hooded fellows chuckled.

I could feel my blood turning to ice as I heard a deep familiar voice speak, "We are trying to reclaim Sora as our thirteenth vessel to serve our purpose. For Kingdom Hearts."

I could feel the darkness in me starting to leak rapidly from my heart as I saw the hooded figure pull down their hood.

Once I saw those fierce golden eyes, my heart stopped for a second while the darkness is me started to go feral.

"Xemnas..." I started to say, feeling my heart pounding in my chest as the memories of what happened all those months back atop of the Castle flood back into me.

He smirked as he walked over and tipped my face back to look up at him, "My, what a beautiful specimen you became Audri. Now please lend us your strength."

And with that, everything went dark.

* * *

Rauxdi paced around the room for what felt like hours as she looked over at Vexen wearily. She closed her eyes tightly before flashing them in anger as she stomped over to the scientist.

"I can't believe you brought him out here!" She hissed as Vexen sighed looking up at her, "Believe me, I didn't know that she was going to react like that and pull all of them in. And to think..."

He glanced to see Audri's curled up form lying on the floor as five phantom chains were connected from her to Young Xehanort, Xigbar, Xemnas, Saix, and the other hooded figure.

All of the men were collapsed on the ground in a sleeping state.

"It took nothing but for a small amount of fear to sneak into her heart and unleash her powers to that extent," Vexen said with a nervous look on his face as Rauxdi glanced over at the huddled form of the girl on the floor.

"What makes you think she didn't pull us in?"

"We probably aren't a threat."

"Come again?"

"It's like... her body reacted on her own and pulled in the people that needed her powers the most. It's like she sensed it and knew all along."

Rauxdi stood there in silence as she sat down next to Vexen, "How long has it been?"

Vexen glanced up at the clock on the wall before fumbling through his notes, "11 hours."

* * *

_Fuck that has got to hurt_, I winced as I looked down from my hood as I sat on the throne up high looking down at the scene before me.

Sora, unconscious on a throne closest to the ground, and Sora's friend Riku crashing onto the floor as he got attacked by Young Xehanort.

"Hands off my new vessel," Young Xehanort growled as he teleported in front of the body lying crumpled on the ground.

"Vessel?" He coughed out as I glanced over to Xigbar and Xemnas on their thrones above.

"Organization XIII's true goal is to divide Xehanort's heart among thirteen vessels. Thanks to you and Sora, we learned that not all of our candidates were fit for the task," He explained as the Riku slowly made his way to his feet summoning his keyblade.

I could feel myself clenching my gloved hands into fists as I heard them speak.

_Fucking asshole really did use them all as sacrificial lambs. I don't understand why they are willing to but..._ I stopped as I looked around all the thrones in that room with sorrow.

_If that is what they see fit to do... So be it._

A second had passed before my eyes before I realized the other thrones were immediately filled, Master Xehanort was flanked on both sides of his throne with Xemnas and another version of himself I feel like I've seen before but I can't put my finger where...

I glanced down to see Riku had his keyblade out as Mickey was standing there as well.

_What in the hell did I miss?_ I thought to myself in surprise before I looked to see Master Xehanort speaking.

"All of this was decided. My twelve selves would welcome me on this day, when I would return a complete person. It is the future which lies beyond my sight. In my eagerness, I have lost sight of the correct way to achieve my goal. I acted rashly. I can admit that now."

_Dear fucking god, this monologue is going on for too long_, I thought to myself as I shifted my legs impatiently. Instead of paying attention to the conversation, I decided to practice tampering into my powers again.

Since I can't remember much before I entered this dream state again, I know that I felt a massive surge of darkness flowing through my veins and it was boosting my energy for the meanwhile. I took a deep breathe as I closed my eyes. I could feel everyone's energy shifting in the room behind me.

Master Xehanort and Xemnas on the higher up thrones while Xigbar was idling by farther down below. Young Xehanort was down at the bottom with the light wielders.

I started to flicker my attention to the other people in the door. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I heard the echoes of everyone with Xehanort's heart in my head.

I felt a small smirk come to my face as I started to realize the presence of Saix in the room, hiding to keep cover.

I could feel another soul hiding nearby, but I paid no heed to him as I could realize the other signatures in the room were all different fallen Organization XIII members.

"Come on, let's go!" I heard Rauxdi's voice whisper to me as I felt her presence by my side.

"Huh, what?" I said snapping my head to see three vessels fighting Riku, Mickey, and Axel that had swiped up Sora's sleeping body.

"Where have I been," I grumbled as I noticed Rauxdi wasn't standing by me but Xigbar instead.

"Nevermind your scrambled. We got bigger things to do now," He whispered as I could feel the massive tug on my chest.

I closed my eyes tightly before I felt someone roughly shaking my shoulders.

"...dri?!..... Au..... wa...."

Everything sounded like static to my ears as I could feel myself grinding my teeth in pain.

"Xe...... Did you....... Fucking as....." I could hear Rauxdi shouting through the static in my brain as I slowly opened up my eyes, feeling something dripping down my face.

"Sh......that's......... ood....!!" I couldn't pinpoint the voice before I closed my eyes holding onto my head before I was being pulled into someone's chest.

The static had subsided and I could feel the weight of my body collapsing as I sat up being held still.

"I'll take care of her with Vexen. The rest of you should finish the rest of your missions," A deep voice spoke as my eyes starting to droop closed.

The voice sounded a little like Xemnas, but it felt more authoritative and forceful as I found myself falling asleep under their spell.

* * *

Rauxdi glanced over the horizon of Castle Oblivion as she heard the nearby men speaking to each other.

"Thank you for helping me with all of these vessels," Vexen said wiping the sweat off of his brow as Xigbar chuckled, "Like we had a choice ya old coot."

A hand landed on Xigbar's shoulder as Master Xehanort smirked, "As long as everything is going according to plan, we will have no trouble dealing with the rest of the matters."

Rauxdi shifted her feet uneasily as Vexen glared at her, "And what are you doing Rauxdi? Why are you so fidgety?"

"I heard about what you told Audri... The week after we left without Sora as Master Xehanort's thirteenth vessel," Rauxdi started to trail off as Vexen nodded crossing his arms over her chest, "And?"

"And?! She's been in a weird mood for the last few days! I have barely gotten her out of her damn room because of her Heartless protecting her! What did you expect to happen once Master Xehanort gave you the list of which members we were-"

"I will not be lectured by a child by what I thought was right!" Vexen snapped as Xigbar got in between the two of them.

"Easy Rauxdi. Are you excited to get her off your case or something if he's coming back?" Xigbar snickered as the redhead shook her head, "I'm worried about what I heard about the hearts being collected from different timelines..."

Vexen shook his head as Master Xehanort placed a hand on Rauxdi's head in a comforting gesture like she was a child, "You worry too much. Everything will be just fine."

Rauxdi shook his hand off as she glanced over at Xigbar with a small smile on her face before she slipped through a dark corridor.

_She really is worrying over nothing, such a panicked girl_, Xigbar thought to himself before he exhaled out of his nose.

"Xigbar. I need you to go on a mission for me to go spy on Sora and the others. He will need to be guided in the right direction to fall into our next trap," Master Xehanort said with a smirk as Xigbar nodded, "Whatever you say, I'm all ears."


	8. Submit to Darkness

I heard the chiming of the bell attached to the front door go off as I tied my hair up about to make myself breakfast.

"Audri? Are you here?" I could hear Young Xehanort's voice echo down the hallway as I shouted, "In the kitchen! Don't tell me you are here to give orders. I'm still recovering from the heart spelunking you made me do."

I heard footsteps behind me as I turned my attention to turn the stove off where I was making over-easy eggs.

"I brought someone to come see you actually," Young Xehanort explained as I turned around to see a hooded Organization XIII member standing next to him.

I felt the smile drop from my face as I scoffed, "You already brought Marluxia, Larxene, and Demyx to say hello. As much as I appreciate it, I'm not going back on missions for you all. Now just leave me alone."

"Actually, I brought him here to introduce the two of you. I was told that he could help with controlling your powers," Young Xehanort said as the figure pulled his hood down as I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

A man with long silver hair that was sleeked back, tanned skin, and those deep golden eyes like every other version of Master Xehanort so far was standing next to Young Xehanort.

A smirk landed on his lips as I raised an eyebrow, "Wait... I remember you. You were one of the vessels back then from the dream state. The one that was trying to retrieve Sora back, and failed."

The last comment seemed to strike a nerve for both men as the smirk disappeared from his face.

"Audri, this is Ansem. He's my older self's Heartless," Young Xehanort said as I walked towards them inspecting the newcomer.

"He's the Heartless I heard about? You have to be shitting me! Of course he can control the Heartless and the darkness inside of him with a body like this!" I shouted in frustration as Ansem chuckled.

"You sound nervous. Shall I take my leave or help you?" Ansem spoke and his voice sent a chill through my body that I thought I would freeze on the spot. Something about the voice melted like honey in my ears and it sounded painfully... familiar.

"Actually, the plan was that you were going to be staying here until she has her powers under control," Young Xehanort replied as my eyes widened from the new information.

"Wait a second! You can't just drop the man off and expect me to house him," I said wagging a finger at Young Xehanort as he pushed my hand away sighing, "He can leave anytime that he wants so if you finish quick enough, the sooner he is out of your hair."

I just glanced over at Ansem, seeing him cross his arms over his chest as I fidgeted standing there on the spot.

"You better be a damn good teacher," I finally said before turning back around to finish cooking my eggs on the stove.

* * *

It's been a few days since Ansem started living at my place. So far he's forced me to run through the Realm of Darkness with Hyde to see if I could tap into my dark powers again.

Ever since Xemnas did something to make my heart be consumed by darkness and pull them into a death-like dream, I have been too nervous to try working on it.

_It's for my own good, fuck that! They just wanna make sure I don't die on them_, I thought to myself in annoyance as I tried to stretch my back out. Replanting flower bulbs is a pain in the ass.

I heard my phone go _ping_ as I was tending to the flower beds outside of the shop. I sighed as I grabbed my phone and swiped the screen to see that I had messages from an unknown number.

_Who the hell is texting me?_

**Unknown**: Hey Audri, It's Demyx! I wanted to let you know that the gang wanted me to invite you to a group chat! Mostly since we need to chat in between missions that the old bald scary guy sends us on. Plus we never hang out anymore! Anyways, just click on the link attached to the text message!

**Unknown**: *attachment sent*

I raised my eyebrow as I sighed opening up the link and downloading the chat app onto my phone. I put my phone back into my pocket before I continued putting the foxgloves into their new place in the planter box.

* * *

I lied back on my bed after opening up the window in my room to get fresh air flowing through. I opened my phone up to see that there were new unread messages in the group chat. I scrolled to the top of the message chain to catch up.

-Audri joins the chat-

**Demyx**: Yay she finally joined!

**Marluxia**: Easy Demyx or you'll scare her away like Xemnas did.

**Demyx**: Xemnas scared her? What aren't you telling me?

**Larxene**: It's gossip from Rauxdi herself. Might as well ask her if she isn't sucking Xigbar or Saix's cocks

**Marluxia**: LOL

I just looked at my phone and scowled. I definitely knew what they were talking about, and I didn't want to take their shit lying down.

**Audri**: Alright assholes, you wanna know what happened?

-Xigbar joins the chat-

**Larxene**: Speak of the devil! Now give us the scoop Audri.

**Audri**: :( He fucked me up and now I'm not normal anymore!

**Demyx**: I believe you Audri!

**Larxene**: You believe anything that she tells you because you like her.

**Demyx**: Well duh, she's a nicer person than you thunder thighs.

**Audri**: Is that really Demyx or a bot?

**Xigbar**: Wow I didn't see that coming. Got balls kid.

**Audri**: Do you want me to tell you or not? Because I got a nap to catch if Ansem lets me.

**Demyx**: Ansem? Which one was he?

**Audri**: *attachment sent*

I sent a picture of Ansem that I took secretly the other day. He was outside of the flower shop in a grey muscle shirt with a soil-stained towel around his neck.

**Larxene**: He's your teacher?! Hot damn I would let him teach me new things any day.

**Audri**: He's supposed to help me control my powers. But I fucking suck at it. He stresses me out.

**Xigbar**: Can I save this and show Rauxdi later? Maybe this'll get her in the mood to ride me since she's been exhausted. I think Saix is taking her out back too much.

**Larxene**: TMI man.

**Marluxia**: Why would she want your old crusty dick?

**Audri**: Who wants one covered in thorns?

**Demyx**: This group chat is supposed to be nice and friendly!

**Xigbar**: Nice and friendly eh? I can be super friendly.

**Xigbar**: *attachment sent*

I froze my finger over the screen and waited for someone to reply as I didn't want to risk opening the attachment Xigbar sent.

**Marluxia**: What the fuck Xigbar? I can't believe you sent a dick pic!

**Demyx**: I need to kill myself before that haunts my dreams tonight.

**Xigbar**: Well Rauxdi likes it!

**Larxene**: Can't blame the girl, you got girth.

-Saix joins the chat-

**Saix**: Everyone.

**Saix**: Get back to your missions.

**Marluxia**: What the fuck? What stick is up your ass?

**Larxene**: Yeah, seriously what is your problem.

**Saix**: I found Saix's phone left behind at the Graveyard. This is Xehanort. Larxene, Marluxia, Demyx, come see me at once as I have tasks for you.

**Xigbar**: Am I going unpunished for having a lovely cock?

**Saix**: That image will burn into my retinas. If my future self turns out gay, I will seek you out until the ends of the earth.

-Saix left the chat-

**Demyx**: So... Audri, do you want us to come visit? We could give you moral support during your training.

**Audri**: No. I'll be okay. Thanks though, if anything... I kind of wish Luxord was here.

**Larxene**: I haven't heard from Vexen yet but he's still working on his vessel.

**Audri**: Really?

**Demyx**: Well, we can still be there for you if needed.

**Marluxia**: Demyx is right.

**Demyx**: I am?

**Marluxia**: We should support Audri's choice to now be a single woman. And as her friends, we should be courteous to her every need.

**Audri**: But I don't wanna be single.

**Xigbar**: That just smells like bullshit Marluxia. You want to protect her from all other guys.

**Marluxia**: Okay, maybe that's the case. But still...

**Audri**: Marly, thanks but I like Luxord a little too much to become celibate the rest of my miserable life. I'm out.

-Audri left the chat-

I put my hands over my eyes and sighed.

"Group chat are weird I swear," I groaned as I leaned out the window to watch the sparkling stars above Twilight Town.

I heard a knock on my bedroom door as I called out, "It's open!" I saw the door open with Ansem standing there in a black V-neck, dark blue pants and those uncomfortable leather boots.

"Ready to train?" He asked as I groaned sitting up from my bed, "As long as you are not throwing me into the Realm of Darkness again. What tactic do you have this time?"

He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed holding his hand out to me. I slowly grabbed his hand as he squeezed it lightly before bringing it up to his face.

I could feel my cheeks prickle with heat as I felt Ansem placing a firm kiss on my knuckles. He sat back up to tower over me as he smiled.

"I think that we should try a different approach today. Because I realized that you have been a little too tense around me and your powers go erratic."

"A-ah, yes I guess you could say that," I said quietly before I felt his hand grab my chin, lifting my face up so I was looking up into dark golden irises.

Ansem looked at me for a quick second to inspect my face over as a smirk spread across his face. "If you would like, I want to try something to ignite a spark to relax you," He said with a small twinkle in his eye as I nodded, "Well, what did you have in mind?"

Ansem didn't reply back as he leaned forward brushing his lips softly against mine. I hesitated, wanting to pull away from the kiss, but his hand was still holding my chin there as he was in control. My eyes fluttered closed as my heart began to pound in my chest.

I could feel his tongue begging for entrance against my lips. A shudder ran down my spine as I involuntary moaned, giving him the chance to explore the insides of my mouth.

I suddenly leaned forward and wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss as I wrestled against his tongue with my own. I could feel my heart hammering heavily against his chest before I could feel his hands snake down and hoisting me onto his lap.

I pulled myself back from the kiss heavily breathing as we looked into each other's eyes. I could see the flickers of lust and destruction in his while my fingers knotted themselves through his silver hair.

"Ah, I h-hope that this isn't what you had in mi-" I gasped as I felt the older man digging his hands into my thighs as I obediently straddled his waist.

"What if it was? I am a very curious man. If anything, I have never come across another specimen like you, and I would love to discover every inch of your body to see what makes you tick," He growled as his silver hair brushed against my face as he bit into my shoulder.

I bit my bottom lip trying to suppress a moan as I pulled my hands from his hair to grip onto his shoulders.

"I take it that you really like this," He said with a devilish tone as I nuzzled into the crook of his neck, "It's feels really good, even if you're manipulating me."

"I wouldn't call this manipulation, it's more of us getting to know each other," Ansem replied smoothly before I pulled my head back and bit him hard in a soft spot on his exposed chest. He groaned out in surprise as my hands fiddled with the hem of his shirt.

As I tried to move my hands down to get over access to his body, he suddenly pulled me back and pinned me against the bed hard.

I could feel my hands trying to shift like I was trying to grab his hands as I looked up at the heavy breathing Heartless in front of me. "Should we really be doing this," I begged trying to shift my weight as he held me against the bed with his hands.

"You are just asking for trouble if I took you for myself right now," He growled leaning his forehead against my shoulder as I grinned, "You don't really know me, do you?"

Before he pulled his head back for another kiss, we heard noises coming from the front of the shop.

"Hello? Audri are you in?"

I could hear Rauxdi's voice calling for me as Ansem and I groaned in frustration.

"Let me see what she wants," Ansem said slowly getting off of me and I sat up.

"I assume that she'd be calling for you if she was here," I said sticking my tongue out before I got up from the bed and made my way out of the room.

"Rauxdi, where are y-" I stopped as I made my way to the front of the shop. My eyes widened as I looked at the two figures in front of me.

Rauxdi turned to me a grinned slapping a hand on the man next to her, "Hey Audri, Vexen and Master Xehanort said they had a surprise for you."

I put my hands to my mouth as I could feel the tears from my eyes rolling down my cheeks.

In front of me, I could see Rauxdi glancing over at the blonde man standing next to her in a casual leather jacket, blue pants, and boots. His golden eye gaze met mine as a small smirk crossed his face.

"L... Luxord, is it really you?" I said quietly as I could hear Ansem coming up from behind me in the hallway to see what was going on. Luxord blinked a few times before glancing away like he was embarrassed or guilty.

Rauxdi raised an eyebrow as she moved her hand from his shoulder as I took a few steps forward and grabbed the Gambler's hands with a cracked smile on his face.

"I can't believe that it's you..." I said failing to keep more tears from falling as he chuckled nervously. He glanced down at me before freeing his hand from mine to caress my cheek, "Well, the one and only."

I could feel the smile leave my face as I looked up in his eyes. Aside from the fact that they were not the striking blue I was used to losing myself in, there was massive confusion and nervousness in his eyes.

I quickly pulled back from him as I took a few steps back. "Rauxdi... What's going on?" I asked as she stepped between me and Luxord.

"Damnit... I'm sorry Audri," Rauxdi said as glanced back at Luxord giving him a quick signal.

He nodded as he shuffled outside quickly and quietly shutting the door behind him.

"They tried Audri. They really tried but... The old man was selfish," Rauxdi explained as she glanced down at my broken expression.

"Where did they get his soul from?" I asked feeling that the answer in my heart was screaming knowing that I wasn't going to like the answer.

"They... He... Before he met you, way before you were taken by Xemnas to live with them," Rauxdi said placing her hands on my shoulder as I looked down.

"Of course. Of course... Xehanort wants vessels that wouldn't be distracted by the past for his plans. Of course he..."

I started to trail off as more tears ran down my cheeks. I felt Rauxdi pull me into a tight embrace as I left my arms hang by my side.

"I thought that bringing him here would trigger some memories. Because even if he's from a different timeline, his heart is still there in a timeline," Rauxdi said as I brought my hands up to shove her off gently.

She looked down at my face as she could see the heartbroken look in my eyes.

She was about to speak but I held my hand up, "Just leave." Rauxdi hesitated before slowly nodding, heading out the door into the night.

I just stood there looking at the floor as the tears dripped onto the floor. I could hear movement behind me before I heard Ansem's voice, "Audri?"

I flinched hearing my name as I turned around feeling my body spiked with pain.

"Ansem... why does it hurt to lose?" I asked weakly as I felt the darkness surging from my body as I stood there in the middle of the shop. The room was soon dripping in dark matter as Ansem took a step towards me carefully as I placed my head in my hands.

"Why does it hurt so much... Why does my heart feel like..." I choked out as I could feel my eyes burning.

Between my sobs, I felt a pair of muscular arms wrap around me. I opened my eyes and reached my hands behind to grab his shoulders as I sobbed. His hands stroked the top of my hair as he tried to calm me down.

Ansem scooped me up and carried me back to my room as he cradled me in his arms. I glanced back to see that the darkness has all dissipated in the shop front, making me assume that Ansem took care of it for me.

I leaned against his chest before he placed me carefully on the bed. I hiccupped as I looked up at his face, seeing slight hints of interest before he turned away from me.

"I'll be in the next bedroom over if you need-"

I grabbed onto his wrist, making him look at my broken-hearted form lying on the bed. "Can... Can you stay?" I asked with a blush crossing my tear-stained cheeks as he sighed.

Ansem grabbed my hand and sat on the edge of the bed. I carefully sat myself up before looking up at the Heartless man.

Through my tears, I reached up to caress my hand across his cheek. He grabbed my hand gently as I leaned forward kissing his lip, realizing that I was trembling badly. He pushed back against me as his hands moved quickly to grab onto my face as he nibbled on my bottom lip.

I whimpered for a second, making him pull back as an uneasy smile crossed his face, "We shouldn't..."

"Please?" I begged, trailing my fingers along the muscles underneath his shirt as Ansem suddenly smirked, diving back down for another fierce kiss.

The second our lips met, the mood changed drastically. Ansem's hands were furiously trying to strip my clothes off as I tried to unzip his pants. I groaned as I felt his hand land a hard slap on my ass before he yanked my shorts down revealing my striped thong.

Ansem broke the kiss as he smirked, "Mine."

I purred as I managed to slide my hand down the front of his pants and trace my fingers along the hardened cock. He drew in his breath sharply before I straddled him trying to grind against him.

I just grinned, feeling my clit aching as I grind against him with the roughness of his pants grazing against the tender bud hiding underneath the thin fabric.

"Oh no you don't," Ansem growled as he leaned back against the bed and forcefully yanked my hips towards his face. I raised an eyebrow at first before letting out an embarrassing squeak feeling his hot breath against my cunt.

"Ansem, wait!" I gasped as I felt his fingers tug the fabric to the side before I felt a lazy but firm tongue grazing against my slit.

"You taste delicious," He growled from between my legs as he held me tightly against his face as his tongue rubbed and licked around the swollen bud.

I leaned forward, grasping onto the windowsill next to my bed as I could feel my body shaking and trembling, wanting to cum so badly but Ansem wasn't letting me have it so easily.

"Ansem," I moaned out heavily as I could feel his lips smirking against my dripping cunt before I felt his tongue slide around and forcefully entering my folds.

I closed my eyes tightly from the new sensation as he slid his tongue out of me, making me starting to breathe hard as I could feel my body wanting so much more.

"Please fuck me," I cried out as I dug my fingers into the wooden windowsill feeling Ansem's hands move from my thighs up to my waist.

I could feel my body trembling on edge before I felt him pull his face away and rolling on top of me with his hands still holding my waist down.

"Will you be a good girl for me?" He growled as I could see him licking his lips, making me flustered as I looked up at the Heartless.

"I'll be good," I said with an aggravated tone as he leaned down planting a kiss along my neck.

"Good girls say 'yes sir' little one," Ansem groaned against my skin as he undid his pants and dropping them slightly for his cock to spring out.

I could feel the heat rushing to the pit of my stomach as I saw his hardened cock hanging between his legs. "Like what you see?" He asked, drawing my attention to his cocky smile as I nodded.

"Y-yes sir," I said quickly as one of his hands made their way back to my hips digging his fingernails into the flesh as he pumped his length in his hands.

"Good, because I will make sure your body aches for me," Ansem said as he leaned down planting a firm kiss on my lips before I felt the tip of his cock rubbing at my dripping entrance.

I wrapped my arms loosely behind his neck before dragging my nails down his shoulders as I could feel him slide himself in with a little force.

I whimpered into the kiss as he shoved his tongue into my mouth, exploring the sweet taste of the Heartless in front of him. I closed my eyes as I felt my walls being raked inside as he slowly pumped himself in.

Something about it was an indescribable feeling as it felt like my body was on fire and on the verge of cumming any minute.

I dropped one of my arms from his shoulder as I trailed my hand down to my clit hoping to have a massive orgasm. I lightly bumped against the hand that was digging into my hips, making him loosen his grip before he pulled back from the kiss to see what caught him off guard.

As he glanced between us to see that my hand was trying to slide down to my core, he grabbed my hand and pin it over my head. I looked up at him with a pleading look in my eyes as he smirked leaning down to leave a trail of hickeys on my neck from aggressive sucking and biting on the skin.

I drew in a sharp gasp from the attention of my skin feeling like it was going to melt away from the pleasure as I fluttered my eyes at him hoping to get him to change his mind and let me finish myself.

Ansem quickly moved his right arm to lean over me while his other hand moved down between my legs as he thrust into me.

"Is this what you want little one?" He asks in a dark seductive tone as he brushed against the aching nub lightly with the touch of his fingers.

I could feel a spark shoot through my spine from the aching feeling in between my legs as I nodded furiously with tears running down my face. Not from physical pain but from feeling so overwhelmed and aroused.

"If you move to touch yourself, you'll be in trouble, got it?" He growled as I nodded, unsure what he meant like that.

He slowly sat himself up before lifting one of my legs up and holding it tightly to hook around his arm. While his other hand slide back down and started to brush and stroke against the gentle flower bud.

I let out a rather loud moan in frustration as he kept teasing and toying with me as he stroked both himself and me.

All I could do was try to keep my hands busy as I could feel my fingers curling into a fist trying to grab onto anything. Ansem leaned back down swiftly to lazily lick at the marks he left on my skin.

Something about Ansem's touch was really making my skin burn with desire for him. It could be the fact that I haven't had any action in a while, but this just felt completely different than when I've had sex before.

My brain suddenly went blank as I felt Ansem suddenly pull himself out and was face down into my crotch. I let out a surprised yelp and suddenly brought my hands down through his hair as his tongue rubbed itself against my clit.

My body was on the verge of breaking down as he teased and lap his tongue all over my drenched slit. _I just want him to stop_, I thought to myself as I bucked my hips against his face wanting him to finish me off.

I could hear a small chuckled as he lifted his head as dipped his fingers right between my folds. The look on his face was dark and made me feel my heart was going to explode if he continued to do this to me.

I just gave him the most defeated and submissive look as Ansem decided to pump his fingers and pull them hard against my sweet spot. I just let out another frustrated scream as he had his free hand push my thigh further apart to give him more access.

"Cum for me princess. I want to hear your screams," He ordered as he suddenly dived in to pump his fingers harder into me and attack my poor clit with his mouth. His words alone sent me over the edge. I just felt my thighs tremble as the massive orgasm sent me over the edge with his talented fingers and mouth.

I could feel the tears staining my cheeks as I felt wave after wave destroy my body as he continued to assault my body sending more shocks of pleasure down my spine.

Somewhere between all of it, I felt words slip from my mouth but my brain couldn't process what I said. Whatever it was, it made Ansem pull away from between my legs and get on top of me.

His cock was still throbbing in an aggressive manner but he leaned down biting my neck softly as I felt the head probing my soaked opening. "I'm not through with you," I heard his voice say as he plunged his length into me again, making me see stars as I started to blackout.


	9. Tainted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This... chapter took alot to write. Mostly because I wasn't sure of the intent of making something so dark and twisted.  
But it reminded me of different types of manipulation I had gone through over the last few years. I sacrificed my physical and mental wellbeing for others and their happiness.  
Shit gets a little real starting here, but it won't make too much sense for you.  
But it will for my own therapy.

"Don't forget you have a mission today," Saix said as Rauxdi moaned rolling in bed as she peeked to see the Nobody leaning over her form.

"I know that Saix. Don't need you to keep reminding me," She scowled as her eyes danced down Saix's exposed chest until the bedsheets hung carefully at his hips. She bit her bottom lip looking up at the man's face to hope that he would give her what she wanted.

But he closed his eyes and brushed his hand through her hair in a boring motion. "Still missing Xigbar?" He asked Rauxdi all of the sudden that it caught her off guard.

"Just a tiny bit, but it's not like he's carrying the whole dynamic while we're in bed together," She confessed, wondering if Saix has been overthinking their time together since he has been brought back as a Nobody.

"Well, as glad as I am to hear that, you have one more thing to do today," He growled as his golden gaze glared down at her small frame.

"And... What would that b-" Rauxdi was cut off as Saix pressed his lips to her hungrily and digging his nails into her exposed waist.

He pulled back as a smirk danced across his face, "Beg for me."

* * *

"Good morning," I moaned as I looked up at Rauxdi as she was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. The redhead Nobody had her hair done into a messy bun as she seemed to be tapping her foot against the ground impatiently.

I felt a grin cross my face as I could see the massive hickies along her neck as her hoodie was pulled down.

"I was going to wake you up but, I didn't want to interrupt," Rauxdi muttered into her coffee cup as I raised an eyebrow at her, "Interrupt what?"

She was about to reply before Ansem strolled into the kitchen shirtless with a pair of baggy sweatpants hanging low on his hips. "Morning ladies," He said with a calm expression as he reached for a coffee mug on the top shelf to pour himself a shot.

"Sleep well?" I asked feeling my face get flushed as he caught me eyeing his body. He smirked as he leaned over me with both hands on either side of me, "Slept soundly thank you. I got to get going for the day, lots of missions to do for the old Master."

Ansem gave me a quick kiss to the forehead as he took off with his drink.

I felt a goofy grin slide onto my face before I heard an audible groan. I laughed nervously as I looked at Rauxdi whose jaw dropped. "Are... Is he..." Rauxdi asked gesturing fingers to the empty doorway as I blushed.

"I mean... Look, let's not talk about it. I'm doing better with controlling the darkness, isn't that all that matters?" I asked as Rauxdi raised an eyebrow at me.

"I mean, if you call pumping his dick into you 'controlling the darkness' then I can't complain," She said with a grin as I crossed my arms over my chest, "Why are you here?"

"Master Xehanort has a mission for us. Mild recon since the other members are doing it too. Some special back up plan in case Sora and his gang fuck up real bad," Rauxdi said getting up from her chair to toss the coffee cup at me.

I panicked, catching the mug barely before scowling at her. "Anyways, get dressed and we'll head out." She said with a grin as she trotted out to the front of the shop.

* * *

"A mission for all of us?" Rauxdi asked as Luxord, Xehanort's younger self, and I stood in front of Master Xehanort. He nodded as he glanced at the sky above us.

"I need to find another princess of heart, and I know that there was one princess that lived there years ago from this world. It could prove useful to infiltrate and see if we can find another among their people," He said with a smile on his face as Rauxdi glanced at the others.

"But do we really four people to-"

"I figured you could all split up among the world and see if you can find any useful information to bring back," He said as he held out his hands to Rauxdi, as she looked at the old man with a doubtful look on her face.

Rauxdi sighed in defeat as she pulled her hood up and summoned a portal, walking through it. Luxord and I followed after her as I asked Young Xehanort to hurry up.

"Don't worry dear, I have to give him more details before he follows all of you," Master Xehanort said with a smile on his face as Young Xehanort nodded waving me off, "I'll follow soon!"

As the portal closed, Xehanort let out an annoyed grunt.

"The Heartless girl is the least of my worries. If she wasn't friends with all the former keybladers, I would have taken her out ages ago," He cursed under his breath as his younger self laughed.

"So what did you want me to do? Secretly off her on this mission?" He asked as the older self shook his head.

"Don't mind her as she's under our thumb now that Ansem is sweeping her off her feet. I would like you to handle her Nobody actually."

"The redhead? What does she-"

"The woman doubts us. The more she knows, the more concern I see crossing her face. I need some type of leverage to keep her as a backup vessel," Master Xehanort said as he clenched his fists.

"And what do you propose?" His younger self asked as he closed his eyes putting a hand to his head grinning.

"Well, I think a handsome young man like myself can figure out something to break her spirit. Even if it means going to extreme levels of manipulation," He said as he reached into his pocket pulling out a vial filled with blueish-pink liquid.

Young Xehanort nodded as he glanced at the vial with a smile, "If you say so. I always have had the best plans of attack."

* * *

"Okay, out with it Audri. What is going on between you and Ansem," Rauxdi said unzipping her coat as I turned my back on her to fix my hair.

"Oh... You know, teaching and learning new stuff," I said meekly as Rauxdi grabbed my shoulder to make me face her.

I stood there trying to avoid eye contact before she bonked me on the head lightly with her fist.

"Are you using him as a rebound?"

I pursed my lips as I started to bring my hands to my face wanting to claw at it.

"I... Well, maybe I am," I started to trail off before Rauxdi raised her eyebrow.

"I'm lonely dammit, why can't I go for the next piece of hot ass I want to throw myself at," I mumbled with a blush as Rauxdi stuck her tongue out in annoyance.

"I won't judge, I'm just... surprised," Rauxdi said trying to reassure me as I slapped her hands off my shoulders.

I felt Rauxdi run her hands through my hair to fluff it out before she fixed her own.

"I know that you're a strong Heartless bitch who don't need a man if anything happens. If anything, you should be allowed to have some fun," Rauxdi said trying to do a Z-snap with her hands as I groaned covering my face, "Please stop embarrassing me and let's finish getting ready."

Luxord and Young Xehanort sighed as they waited at the bottom of the staircase.

"They should be done any minute with their outfits," Luxord said crossing her arms over his chest as Young Xehanort shook his head, "Can't be helped when we're trying to blend in with such an... inquisitive crowd."

Luxord nodded as he looked down at his outfit as he was dressed in a formal military uniform armed with a rapier on his belt.

"We're sure the public won't notice that we're impersonating the palace's soldiers?" He asked as the younger man shrugged.

"Hey, we're ready guys!" I shouted as I ran down the stairs. Luxord turned and smiled warmly as he saw me dashing down the stairs with a deep purple and silver ballgown dropping down my shoulders.

"Audri, hold on! You're going to-" Rauxdi shouted from the top of the stairs as I suddenly felt my foot slip as I took a tumble at the last few steps.

"Fucking-!" Luxord shouted as he lunged forward, catching me before I came face to face with the marble floors.

I gripped his arms as I looked up at him tears welling in my eyes, "Er... Thanks for that Luxord."

"You should be more careful," Xehanort said nervously as he was shocked by the erratic nature of witnessing me on a mission for the first time.

"Sorry, but I look like a pretty princess," I said laughing, rubbing my eyes as Rauxdi came down and hit me on the back of the head. "God damn idiot I swear," She huffed as Xehanort glanced to see that Rauxdi was dressed a little less sophisticated.

The red-headed Nobody gal was wearing a plain maid dress that went to her knees, with her hair done into a french braid. Rauxdi scowled seeing Xehanort was eyeing her up.

"I needed to be ready just in case something tries to kill us. Rather not have a trail of fabric to get in the way. Although... I am a little nervous," She said rubbing her hands along her puffy sleeves.

"Don't be nervous, this isn't the first time that you've dressed for an occasion!" I said with a plastered grin as Luxord and I started making out way towards the ballroom.

Rauxdi sighed shaking her head in disbelief as Xehanort smiled.

"Well, if it makes you feel better..." He pulled out a small vial with the bluish-pink liquid inside of it handing it to Rauxdi, "I snuck something from Audri to ease your mind. I know that you didn't seem thrilled to take this mission with all of us, so I figured it would come in handy."

She just raised an eyebrow at Xehanort before uncorking the bottle and taking it in one gulp.

"Wish it was alcohol, but whatever. Let's do this," She grumbled as she grabbed Xehanort's arm and chased after the pair.

Hours later, Rauxdi and Xehanort were on the sidelines as they watched Luxord and I dance on the ballroom floor with all the other guests.

"So what's the exact reason we are here again?" Rauxdi asked playing with the hem of her dress as Xehanort sighed through his nose.

"We are trying to find the next princess of heart. If those dreadful light guardians don't find enough people, we need more pure hearts to be our sacrificial lambs," He explained as Rauxdi turned to face him.

"That's a little more morbid than I expected. So who was the last princess then?" She asked as Young Xehanort pointed to a young blonde woman sitting on the nearby throne. She had her hair tightly done into a bun as she wore a small crown which was drowning in jewels.

"Her name is Cinderella, and she was the last princess of heart until a few years ago. She now reigns over the kingdom as their new queen, but who says it will be a princess?" Young Xehanort said as Rauxdi raised an eyebrow.

"Cinderella was a poor maid that was abused by her wicked stepmother and stepsisters. She found some type of magic to win the prince's heart by her own nature. So-"

"That means any of these damn women can be the next-" Rauxdi started to raise her voice before people started looking at her noticing the arousal of her aggressive nature.

She took a moment to take a deep breath before hissing, "This is going to take us forever!"

"It could, might be here a while the four of us. Since Audri and Luxord are the main distraction while we stand by-" Young Xehanort scooted closer to Rauxdi and ran her fingers through her fiery braid, snapping the ribbon holding it together, "We could always make the most of the time away from everyone else."

Rauxdi felt herself start to laugh nervously as she turned to face him, "I am unsure if I should be flattered by this or not. Are you..."

"But what if I am?" He said boring his golden orbs down into hers as she bit her bottom lip trying to think of a way out.

He grabbed her hands as squeezed them together before bringing them up to his face to plant kisses on the top of them, "You really think that after all the times of trying to meet with you, Xigbar, and Saix, that I haven't thought about touching your scarred curves?"

Rauxdi suddenly pulled her hands back in embarrassment as he looked down at her with a spark of malice storming in his eyes.

"I think... I should go find that princess," She said and quickly exited the area as fast as she could.

Rauxdi rushed out of the ballroom completely distressed as her heart pounded in her chest.

_What the hell was he thinking back there? In front of all those people_, she thought to herself as she held her hands close to her chest.

"I guess I should survey the area if we are going to be here for a while," She mumbled to herself as she walked along the edge of the balcony, heading towards the palace's gardens.

She looked up at the starry sky before glancing back at the castle, "Maybe it's best if I had Audri get out of this entire mess... At least before it's too late."

As Rauxdi turned back around, she glanced down to see at the edge of the large fountain, there was an unconscious body floating in the water face up.

"What the hell? Is suicide that big here?" Rauxdi said as she rushed down the steps in her slippers and ran over to the fountain to get a better look at the body.

She stopped herself as she saw a young man with short spiky brown hair in a strange outfit. He wore a black tight-fitting shirt with red suspender straps, shoulder armor on one side, and dark tan hakama pants that were completely soaked at this point.

_Definitely not from this world_, Rauxdi thought to herself as she jumped in and dragged the man out of the fountain, lying him on the ground. She leaned her head to his chest as she could barely hear his heart barely beating.

"Fucking hell, what am I doing?" She groaned in nervousness as she started going chest compressions and doing mouth to mouth to the unconscious man.

She kept going for another few minutes before his body started to shake as he started coughing, leaning to the side coughing out the water from his lungs.

"Hey, hold on there!" Rauxdi said grabbing his shoulder, trying to lean him back on the ground but he just leaned on his side beginning to breathe and feel his body tense up.

"How are you feeling?" She said as he glanced back at her, suddenly gaining consciousness as he looked up at her with bright golden eyes.

"Where..."

"It's okay, I don't know what happened, but you're safe," Rauxdi said as she removed her hand from his shoulder. He adjusted himself so he was sitting up as his arm rested on his crooked knee as he sat there looking at Rauxdi in slight confusion.

"Do you remember your name?" Rauxdi asked in hesitation as he glanced up at the sky like he was searching for the answer deep inside of him before looking at her with a smile on his lips.

"The name's Terra."

* * *

"Ah, you're an outsider too? Does that mean you are a keyblade wielder?" Terra asked as him and Rauxdi walked outside of the castle walls into the nearby forest.

She shook her head as she smiled weakly, "Not exactly. I am actually... It's complicated but me and my friends are trying to do some good, sort of." Terra nodded as he stopped as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "If it makes you feel better, I know that you're a good person for saving me."

Rauxdi raised a brow as she noticed he was looking away with a blush spreading across his face.

"Thank you for the compliment even though you didn't have to say anything."

Terra smiled, turning back to face her before they were both interrupted by rustling going on in the trees in front of them.

"Well look what we have here. I'm surprised that you were able to find him. Very impressed!"

A voice rang in the air as Rauxdi felt a chill run down her spine as she saw Young Xehanort in his casual clothes as he changed his outfit to a white button-down with a leather vest and dark pants.

"What are you talking about? I saved this kid from drowning!" Rauxdi said taking a step in front of Terra as she held her arms out in a defensive manner.

Xehanort laughed as he summoned his keyblade and gestured it towards them, "Sorry but he's our accomplice."

"What are you-" Rauxdi was cut off as she heard Terra chuckled behind her when she whipped around seeing him with darkness swirling out of him.

"Xehanort, what is the meaning of this?!" She snapped as she started walking to Young Xehanort as he flipped his keyblade around to pierce it into the ground.

It created a dome around the three of them, separating them from the outside world.

"Sorry Rauxdi, but if I told you that I planned on separating you to speak in private, you would have put up a fight. So glad you drank that potion earlier," He said with a smug look on his face as Rauxdi went over and raised her hand.

"Don't fuck with me!" She barked swinging her hand down to slap him, but her wrist was caught as a dark purple chain enveloped her wrist, pulling her back from the younger man.

She turned around to see Terra had a twisted grin on his face that made her heart sink. His hair was now silver and his eyes were bright gold, like some of the other men she knew.

"What..."

"This young boy Terra gave into the darkness as doubt filled his heart. He became afraid; not being able to protect his friends. I locked his heart away and took over many years ago. I willingly turned myself into a Heartless and Nobody, so I don't think I need to make any other introductions to you."

Terra-Xehanort spoke as Rauxdi noticed the dark purple chains wrapped around her wrist was coming from the dark void around his feet.

"And now that you know so much, we need to know where you have been getting all of your other information from. Otherwise, we are going to force it out of you," Young Xehanort said as he grabbed Rauxdi's shoulder from behind, digging his fingernails into her skin making her bleed.

Rauxdi winced as she looked between the two men. _Fuck, this is really bad. I can't them find out on what I know_, The redhead thought to herself as she was snapped out of her thoughts as Terra-Xehanort grabbed her chin forcing her to look up at her with a smirk on his face.

"I think even if she doesn't talk, she would be fun to play with. After all these years, I haven't properly used this body," He growled as Rauxdi tried to swing at Terra-Xehanort with her other hand.

Another chain came up grabbing her other wrist and forcefully pulled her hands over her head.

She started to realize how frightful the situation was as Terra-Xehanort laughed and leaned in whispering into her ear, "You're going to regret having a heart when I'm through with you."

"There's no way the both of you are going to get away with this. Once Audri and Luxord-"

"-realize that we are gone? Oh don't worry about them as we'll be in here as long as it takes," Young Xehanort reaches from behind as he starts to tear her dress off of her as it pooled onto the ground beneath her feet.

Terra-Xehanort gazed down her body like she was a piece of meat as he glanced at his younger self, "Please leave her to me. I should be grateful and be the one to punish this nosy bitch."

"Of course, she is all yours." Young Xehanort said as he made a portal to leave as Rauxdi squirmed and shouted, "Wait! You damn bastar-"

She felt her attention pulled forward in front of her as Terra-Xehanort grabbed the back of her head and forced her to look up at him. The smirk on his face caused her stomach to drop as he growled, "You should be paying attention to me while I take the light out of your eyes."

"Now... Let's see how your body reacts to this," He backed up for a second as he summoned his keyblade. Her eyes widened as it looked similar to the one Master Xehanort possessed.

She swallowed feeling her heart pounding in her chest. She ground her teeth looking up at him trying to save face, "Try me pretty boy."

* * *

Red.

That was all Rauxdi could see as she lied on the ground in a crumpled heap. Her breath was ragged as she felt her skin burning everywhere the keyblade had struck her. If anything, this was by far the most pain she has ever felt compared to Xigbar's knife play.

She felt the cold metal chains drag her to her knees as it wrapped around her throat. She could barely see Terra-Xehanort standing in front of her as he held his keyblade, dripping with her blood, up to her face.

"You really do bleed a lovely shade of red. I would love to see what else your body can handle, how does that sound?" He asked her as he rubbed the tip of the keyblade along the jawline of her face. She shot him a glare as she grinned, "Fuck off Xehanort."

Terra-Xehanort's face darkened from the comment. He grinned as he leaned down to grab ahold of the chain around her neck and pulled her towards him.

"Is that so? Well how about if I let my body and hands do the talking?" He growled as the chain shot towards a nearby tree at the end of the time-bubble barrier.

Rauxdi felt her body stumble and being pulled as the chain wrapped tightly against the tree, pulling her against it.

She tried to grab the chain to loosen it from the tree trunk, but with Terra-Xehanort controlling it, the chain wrapped its way around the red head's wrists, trapping her arms as they were wrapped around the tree.

"You look so comfortable," He said with a hint of toxicity in his voice as Rauxdi struggled, trying to break free.

"Now let's see how you are doing after I tenderized your body," Terra-Xehanort said as his hands slid over her bare and beaten ass, finding himself sliding a few fingers into her asshole and cunt.

Rauxdi felt her body jolt from the sudden invasion as she struggled and started to plead. But what she wanted to say came out very different as she moaned, "Please fuck me, I want to feel so good!"

_What in the fuck was that? I didn't mean to say that_, Rauxdi thought to herself in bewilderment as she could feel Terra-Xehanort shaking with laughter before she felt another finger probing her dripping pussy.

"Glad to see that enhancement drug is working, it makes the user in a conscious state but their body says differently," He groaned as he got behind her and pumped his fingers into her.

Rauxdi just moaned in pain and whimpering as she pleaded him to '_keep going and don't stop_' while internally she wanted this to end.

"Well, aren't you just a little slut? I guess maybe I should treat you like one," He groaned as he starts undoing his hakama while Rauxdi was trying to pull away, feeling terrified not having any control of her body.

"Why are you doing this?" She whimpered out as she felt the man's throbbing dick rubbing between her soaked thighs.

"Let's just say that I wanted this punishment to be... Addicting to a point where you'll want to serve me and tell me what I need to know," Terra-Xehanort groaned as he leaned closer to Rauxdi's bent over form as he grabs her hips, forcefully shoving his cock into her dripping cunt.

"P-please, d-don't stop!" Rauxdi's mouth said as tears ran down her cheeks as she gripped her nails tightly into her palms and the chains dug into her wrists.

"I don't plan to my dear. But just so you know..." He growled, yanking her braid with one hand, forcing her to look back at him with tears down her face.

"If you don't follow my orders, don't think I won't do the same thing to your little Heartless."

Rauxdi stopped breathing for a second as she heard his threat. She definitely didn't want Audri caught up in all of this after all this time.

She felt the fear coming from the pit of her stomach as she choked out, "You w-wouldn't dare..."

"I could have my younger self lure her out here right now and we could do so many things to her while you watch helplessly. Fuck I would love to hear her scream and beg for our cocks," Terra-Xehanort said licking his lips at the thought as Rauxdi panicked.

_This is really bad... I can't do this any longer..._ Rauxdi thought to herself as she was pulled out of it as he yanked her hair again tightly as he stopped thrusting into her.

"So, what do you say slut? Should I only have one bitch or get her as well to serve at my feet?"

"J-just... Whatever you want to me, please leave her out of this. I'll... do anything you say," Rauxdi said as her lips trembled as tears fell down her face as he smirked.

"Good girl, now let's train you to be a good actor and a better cock sucker."

* * *

"I can't believe you lost her!" I shouted as I ran down the garden steps outside with Young Xehanort and Luxord chasing after me.

"S-she just took off thinking she could go find the princess, I don't know where she went last," Young Xehanort said gasping for air like he ran a marathon.

Luxord raised an eyebrow as Young Xehanort, feeling slight hesitation in his answer before he spoke, "We'll find her Audri. Don't worry."

I nodded as I kept feeling my heart pounding erratically in my chest. Something felt wrong, something felt very wrong but I couldn't pin my finger to it.

"Rauxdi!" I shouted as I chucked off my shoes as I ran through the gardens, trying to look for my Nobody as I heard the two men shouting for her on the other side of the castle grounds.

I stopped dead in my tracks as I heard rustling behind me. I gritted my teeth as I summoned my weapon, prepared for the worst before my eyes laid on the roughed up figures in front of me.

I saw a silver-haired fellow in odd clothing carrying Rauxdi's bloodied body in his arms like she was barely awake.

"What the fu- Luxord! Xehanort! She's here!" I screamed as I stood my ground with Dark Hide bursting from my shadow at the two figures in front of me.

"What is going-" Luxord and Young Xehanort stopped in their tracks as they saw Audri standing there with her Dark Hide growling at the man in front of her holding the beaten Nobody.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked with a trembling voice as the man spoke holding Rauxdi's frail body in his arms, "I found her in the forest being ravaged by some of the castle's guards. I fought them off but she was already like this..."

"Bullshit! She could have handled herself," I snapped as Luxord ran over grabbing my hands as he forced me to look at him, "Audri! Audri, please calm down she's safe! Rauxdi is-"

Luxord stopped as I pushed him away and ran towards the man with a broom I summoned before I tried to swing at his head.

"Audri, stop! He's-" I heard Young Xehanort say before the silver-haired man quickly summoned a keyblade with a free hand, blocking my attack.

"I'm on your side! Look," He said as he held Rauxdi with one arm as he gestured to his keyblade. I glanced at it wildly before noticing it looked identical to what the damn old man has used one or twice before on her.

I gritted my teeth, slowly backing off, and unsummoned the broom with the Dark Hide looking at me for reassurance to stand down.

"Audri, that's-" I shot a look at Young Xehanort, making him stop talking immediately before I walked forward glaring up at the man in front of me.

"Save it Xehanort, now isn't the time. Luxord, can you...?" I said without turning around as I pulled Rauxdi from the man's arms, hoisting her on my shoulder as Luxord rushed to her other side.

I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth as I summoned a portal. "Where are you-"

"I'm trying to save myself. You do the same," I hissed as I glanced back at Young Xehanort, assuming that this man was another version of himself.

* * *

Terra-Xehanort smirked as the portal closed leaving the two versions of himself standing in the gardens.

"I assume you took care of her," Young Xehanort said walking over as Terra-Xehanort scoffed, "She is a screamer. My type of girl, but after what happened in there... She won't be any more trouble for us. Pity that she wouldn't talk."

"Even if we can't get answers, she should stop her search," He said with a scoff as Terra-Xehanort unsummoned his keyblade, "If anything, I'm glad to be finally here. Now that we have another sacrificial lamb that will do anything we ask as long as-"

"It was a risk assuming that she would take the fall for the girl, but it was worth it," Young Xehanort said as he summoned a portal for them both, "We have much to catch you up on with our current plans."


	10. Flickers of Regret

Xigbar sighed as he looked at the little plant shop in Twilight Town as he stood outside of it. When he got back from harassing Sora, he came back to see Terra-Xehanort was in their ranks and everyone was quieter than usual. No one would talk to him and Saix even avoided him.

The only thing he knew is that Rauxdi wasn't back at their usual hotel room the three of them shared in Traverse Town and that she was at Audri's place.

_Now I have to figure out what the hell is going on. Plus I can see if Rauxdi would wanna play a little if I kick Audri out_, He thought with a smirk on his face as he walked into the little shop.

"Xigbar!" I shouted as I dropped the bag of mulch I was carrying.

"Hey Audri. Glad to see that you're talking to me at least. Is Rauxdi in at all?" He started with as already thinking of dirty positions to put Rauxdi in.

The look on my face killed his boner as I looked away a little squeamish.

"Now isn't the best time Xigbar... I mean, thanks for coming over. I hope that someone filled you in on what happened with Rauxdi. But I don't think you're going to get to her," I said as Xigbar looked down at me with an annoyed look on his face.

"As funny the riddles are since they're my thing, I don't get the joke on this one. What are you talking about, what happened to Rauxdi?" He asked as he grabbed my ear trying to lightly punish me for not being straight with him.

A pang went off in my heart as I pulled his hand away, "Noone told you? She got really... She got really fucked up on a mission we had, and well..." I got cut off as Xigbar started to prod a finger at my chest, "Where is she Audri? Let me go see her."

I just looked up at him trying to see an ounce of sincerity but all I could see was shock.

I sighed and gestured behind me, "She's in my spare bedroom. She just sits in bed and looks out the window. Can't get a word out of her Xigbar. It's like... Something broke her really badly." Xigbar nodded as he walked past me and the counter to head down the hallway of the small apartment area.

"Hey Xigbar!" I said turning around before he opened her bedroom door. He raised an eyebrow as I bit my bottom lip before speaking, "Please be careful. She attacked Vexen and a few others when we tried to dress her wounds."

He nodded as he slowly opened the door and went into the room.

* * *

Xigbar closed the door behind him as he saw the Nobody he was using for his own gain sitting up in her bed and turned away from him.

From what he could see, Rauxdi had rolls of bandages wrapped from her wrists to her shoulders, tying together into a bow behind her neck.

"Hey Rauxdi, did you miss me?" Xigbar said outloud as he walked over to stand by her bed. Rauxdi didn't really moved except you can see her muscles tremble the minute he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I heard that you took some type of massive damage or tumble on a mission lately. If I was there, you'd have been in my arms the entire time," Xigbar said trying to make a joke as he ran his fingers to interlace with her hand.

He noticed her flinch like it hurt but she didn't push him away so he gave her a gentle squeeze.

He leaned close to her face before he pushed her face towards her with his free hand. The minute he did that, Rauxdi's eyes widened and she closed them tightly as she tilted her head down.

"...Rauxdi, tell me what happened. Please, you're freaking out Audri out there and apparently, you did a number on the others when they tried to help bandage you. What happened out there," Xigbar asked rubbing his thumb in circles over her cheek as tears started falling down her face.

"I can't make it better if you don't tell me what happened," He said trying to reassure her as she opened her eyes to look at him. Xigbar noticed her eyes were glassy and dull like she was dying inside.

"Xigbar... It hurts," Rauxdi said softly that Xigbar assumed she didn't say a damn word.

"Can you tell me what hurts? What's wrong, should I get Audri to-" Xigbar asked as he felt Rauxdi squeezed his hand trembling, "Ten years."

"Pardon?" He asked now confused as the tears kept flowing down her face, "T... Those bastards made me feel ten years worth of pain all at once."

Xigbar just looked at her face trying to search for answers as her voice started to shake as she spoke, "Two years worth of scars. Two years of burning pain. Two years of freezing to death. Two years worth of keyblade wounds..."

_Keyblade wounds?_ Xigbar thought in confusion as his eye widened in realization as she started sobbing hysterically.

He grabbed her shoulders pulling her tightly against his chest as she sobbed.

"X-Xehanort made a barrier around us after getting me alone to interrogate me. T-that damn bastard put his cock wherever he could while I was... It hurt. It hurts so much... Why am I still here? Why didn't they just kill me?"

Xigbar just stayed quiet as Rauxdi started to sob uncontrollably into his chest.

Her wails were only fueling his anger as he sat there trying to comfort her.

* * *

"I need to get you both out of here," Xigbar said as he held Rauxdi's head against his chest as he decided to lie down with her. He could feel Rauxdi trembling in fear and pain as he held her.

"T-they'll just find us and punish us worse. I... I assume they're just keeping up in their grasp as backup vessels for Xehanort's plan but..."

Rauxdi started to speak before her hiccups came back due to her crying so much.

Xigbar started to run her back with his free hand as he leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

"No one deserves what they put you through. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that he did that to you," He said holding her tightly to his chest as she started to sob again.

After a few more hours, Xigbar adjusted her coat as he looked back at Rauxdi's sleeping form.

_Poor girl cried herself to sleep. Must be the only thing that helps get it all out_, He thought to himself as he leaned down to pull the covers over her and kiss her forehead one last time.

He held the small purple sea glass star necklace that Rauxdi gave him before she went to sleep. He gripped it tightly as he made his way out of the room.

_What am I doing with a woman like that?_

As he closed the door behind him, he peeked around the corridor as he saw my small frame in the shop.

"Hey Audri," Xigbar called out as I turned around to face him. He walked over as I gripped the potted plant in my hands, "How is Rauxdi?"

"How good is your spellwork?" Xigbar said coldly as I looked up at him confused, "It's pretty decent after working with the Possessor and Hyde. What do you need?"

"Can you bind spells to proof her room? All type of spell encounters if you can... That would be nice," Xigbar said as he started walking past me heading towards the door.

"Xigbar! Stop right there," I said as I slammed the poor plant onto the counter as the pot cracked.

Xigbar stopped walking as I walked around and faced him.

"What happened?" I asked trying to stand up to the older Nobody knowing that he could easily knock me out.

I continued, "I have a right to know since she's part of-"

I was silenced as Xigbar dangled the purple sea glass star necklace in front of my face.

"Rauxdi wants you to have this," He said dropping it into my open hands as he walked past me. He opened a dark corridor as I shouted at him, "Xigbar!"

"It's her story to tell when she's ready. Just stay safe. Both of you," He said as I saw a small glimpse of regret in his eye as the corridor closed in my face.


	11. Two-Sided Coin

"Goddammit I'm so fucking bored, and it's the slow season too," I started to mope as I leaned against the counter seeing the plants in my shop are barely hanging on for dear life.

Why you might ask?

It's the middle of winter and I don't have heating attached to the place. I crossed my hands over my head as I fake sobbed.

I could hear people running around and enjoying themselves outside.

_Oh well, even if it's slow, this means that I can try to coax Rauxdi out of her room one of these days. _ _It's like she flinches every time there is a person walking near her on the street._

I thought to myself as I pondered on the last month taking care of my Nobody. Most of her wounds healed except for the ones that left massive scarring on her body.

Vexen even took a look and she outright attacked him in a state of panic again. He explained that she probably won't be the same until she talks about what happened. Whatever happened caused severe post-traumatic stress to her entire system.

I bit my bottom lip as I started to make my way outside, snatching the broom up as I kicked the front door open.

"Hey idiots! I'm still open if you want to buy shit from me for your loved ones! They better not die because you didn't get herbs this season," I shouted at the pedestrians walking past my shop.

With no crowds coming in, I just sighed sweeping away the snow from the front door as I thought more about Rauxdi's situation.

She really hasn't talked to a soul other than Xigbar when he came by. After that, no one else stopped by. Even Ansem hasn't swung by since Rauxdi moved into the spare bedroom. I don't know if it's out of fear or respecting Rauxdi's wishes to be alone.

_If I had to be honest, I could really use someone to lean on during this whole ordeal, _I thought to myself as I reached down to rub my fingers along the sea glass star around my neck from Rauxdi.

I just sighed in defeat, realizing that nothing was going to change anytime soon.

I put the broom to the side and picked up the watering can sitting on the window sill and started getting to work to make sure the flowers don't die on me.

As I started watering the last planter full of red tulips, I heard a forced cough from behind me.

_Holy shit it's the first customer in forever, okay play it cool..._ I thought to myself as I glanced up with a warm look my face, "Can I help you today?"

"Actually, I was going to ask you the same thing," A familiar silver-haired man said as he towered over to me smiling as I stood up embarrassed and annoyed it was just the damn Organization XIII on my doorstep.

"Oh great, the minute I think about you guys, and you come around like the plague to my door. What do you want..." I stopped as I realized I didn't know his name.

_Motherfucker, I was so preoccupied with Rauxdi I never went back to meet the new guy_, I cursed myself as a chuckle came from his throat.

"If it makes it easier on you, just call me Xehanort if I'm the only one around," The new Xehanort said with a smirk as my face turned red, realizing that he knew I didn't know his name.

He held his hand out to me as he continued, "And may I get your name? Old Man Xehanort and everyone has been keeping me in the dark about the lovely Heartless maiden."

I looked up at him with a suspicious look on my face before I placed the watering can down before I did something impulsive.

"It's Audri if you must know. Now... 'Young Master' Xehanort, why are you at my front door? Damn old man finally wants me back on the clock?"

"Actually, I wanted to help you around your shop today if you don't mind. Marluxia mentioned that he is jealous of all of the plants you grow here," He said with a warm smile on his face as I raised my eyebrow.

"What's the occasion? The old man trying to butter me up by using one of his five clones to help me? You do know that after all the radio silence this past month, this is strange," I said pointing a finger at him as he smiled, "What if I wanted to help out of the bottom of my heart?"

I just looked at the man in front of me before trying to choose my words carefully, "Do you even have a... You know what, fine. You can help me out here for the day. The only thing though is that I think you're going to scare my customers if you look like... well... tall, dark, and evil."

He glanced down at himself as he chuckled, "I guess I see your point. Mind if I use your restroom?"

I nodded as I gestured to the front door behind him, "Just make sure to look nice and presentable. I'm running a flower business, not an armor shop!"

Xehanort nodded as he walked in and past the counter. As he walked down the hallway to the bathroom, he heard a click and saw Rauxdi stepping out of her room in her big fleece pajamas due to the cold.

Rauxdi stopped and looked at him with wide eyes.

Terra-Xehanort smirked as he spoke, "Morning Rauxdi. Sleep well? If you excuse me, I have something to take care of."

As the bathroom door shut, Rauxdi scrambled from the hallway towards the front of the shop.

"WHAT. IS. HE. DOING. HERE?" Rauxdi's voice started to end up shouting the question as I stood there putting my apron on.

"What, you mean 'the young but also cuter than all the Xehanorts' Xehanort? He's helping me around the shop today," I said as Rauxdi gripped my shoulders digging her nails into my skin, "What do you mean he's working here today? Why... What... Why?"

"I have no idea, but why are you uppitty about it? I thought you and him were cool after he fou-" I stopped as I saw this look of defeat in her eyes.

"I mean... Sure he did, but like... Fuck Audri, why do you have to be... so you," Rauxdi mumbled under her breath as I raised an eyebrow at her.

"I mean, I can ask him to leave if you want Raux-"

"No! I mean... It's okay Audri. I was going to go... do some... stuff today. You know, actually, make the trek into town without killing anyone!"

Rauxdi said as her eyes started to gaze away from my face.

"Okay, but if you don't-"

"Nope, gonna go. Bye Audri!" Rauxdi cheered as she snapped her fingers to change her pajamas to her coat on and bolted out the door.

"Well that was fucking weird," I said as I heard footsteps behind me. "How do I look?" I heard Xehanort's voice as I turned around and almost dropped my jaw.

Xehanort was now a spiky brunette with a warming smile on his face as his sparkling blue eyes bore into my soul.

"Fuck me hard," I said out loud as Xehanort looked at me in slight surprise, "Excuse me?"

"Ah... Shit I didn't mean... You look great! I don't mean 'Fuck me hard' like business isn't going to go well today because of... you being here. But..."

I tried to make up an excuse as I could feel my heart pounding heavily in my chest.

"Are you alright? Should I go get someone to take a look at-"

"No! You're fine, I'm fine! I just..." I tried to put my words together before I made a bigger fool of myself.

I clapped my hands together as I gestured towards him trying to change the conversation away from me, "How did you change your hair and eyes and all that?"

"It's a complicated story. I can tell you another day since it's long and boring. Why do you ask?" Xehanort asked to say as I put my hands over my mouth.

_Have mercy on my soul if I try to take a ride on his keyblade_, I thought to myself as I slowly removed my hands from my mouth revealing a smile, "You look s-so nice, and handsome and shit. Let's sell some plants and herbs!"

* * *

"Thank you young man! All my stars Ms Blanca, I'm so glad you found a man to help you around the shop ever since that other fella stopped showing up to work," One of the regular elderly ladies told me as I stood outside of my shop watching Xehanort putting some bags on her small snow-plow wagon.

"Ah, he's a friend from out of town planning to help me for the day," I said feeling the heat rush to my cheeks in embarrassment knowing that I used Ansem as eye candy around the shop while we weren't practicing dark magic or fucking.

The older lady sighed, "Oh too bad, maybe I could have fixed him up with my granddaughter!"

"I think it's time for you to go home now before your plants die from the snow," I said feeling this uncomfortable pang in my chest as she laughed, "You know all my grandchildren are babies, I meant for him to babysit! Heavens dear, no need to be jealous. I will head on home before it gets too dark."

As I waved her off, I glanced back at Xehanort who was putting some of the potted plants on the higher shelf on the outside of the building.

I felt my eyes lingering as I started checking out this new version of Xehanort's body as he flexed and moved putting things away for me.

I was getting ahead of myself oogling the new bad guy as I walked over to Xehanort.

I forced a grin on my face as I spoke, "Thank you for helping me out today! I'm actually surprised that I had... more business today than ever before. It's like it was a blessing after I threatened all of those people earlier."

_More like a curse with that fine ass around_, I thought to myself as he smiled, "Well that's good that I caught you on a busy day. Who knows if you'd ever get any work done."

"Mind helping me move some things around inside before we call it quits? I actually wanted to go on a quick walk before it gets dark," I said as I opened the door to let him go first. Xehanort nodded with a smile as I instructed him to help me move a couple of bags with dried rosebuds around the shop.

"I can lift this one on my own," I said with a smile as he raised an eyebrow at me lifting a 30 pound potted thorn bush by myself. "If you say so, I'll be over-"

His sentence was cut short as the sound of shattered ceramics rang through the room as I looked at my hand. There were tons of thorns prickled in my hand as I looked up at him nervously, "S-sorry about that. I think part of the bush overgrew so I accidentally gripped it thinking it was the pot..."

"Do you need any help?" He asked as I started to carefully pull the thorns out, "Get the first aid from the cabinet over there. I can bandage this mys-"

"I'll do it for you," Xehanort said as he grabbed the first aid and picked me up, sitting me on top of the counter like I was a 5-year-old getting a shot.

"Y-you don't have to-" "It's the least I can do," He said with a warm smile, I was losing myself in his eyes before I averted my gaze.

He sighed as he started to take out the thorns from my hand, seeing that they were deep in there from how hard I gripped the thorns. Xehanort poured a vial of Hi-Potion I kept in the first aid all over my palm, making me wince in pain as he rubbed his fingers along my hand, "Sorry, can't help you there with the pain."

"Maybe you could," I cursed under my breath as he finished wrapping gauze over my hand.

"How do you feel?" Xehanort asked with mild concern in his voice, making me realize that he was standing right between my legs as I sat on the counter.

"B-better! I promise! Don't worry about me, j-just get going for the day Xehanort," I stammered as I tried to face away from him. I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see that he looked disheartened.

"Ah... Right, sorry. I should probably go before the others realize I'm gone," He said as I quickly grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Hang on. Let me say that... I don't hate you. I have no clear opinion of you and your other... selves. But uh, you are... You're..."

His hand left my grip as he grabbed my chin forcing me to look at him, "Handsome? Like you said earlier?"

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I looked up at him seeing that his hair color and eyes changed back to his silver mischievous self.

I swallowed hard before nodding, "Ah y-yeah. Pretty much. Not like you w-weren't handsome b-before you changed your hair color and all..."

He smiled as he started to lean in, inches from my face as he whispered, "And what would you do if you could act on the urges your heart wanted?"

I felt my heart stop for a second as my brain was so caught up in him being so close that it caught me off as he growled, "I would love to explore your body some time."

_Oh no._

_That was a green light._

_Oh fuck me._

"Why not right now?" I asked while I had my fingers brush along his well-toned chest and along his red suspenders.

He smirked before grabbing my waist, pulling me towards him, "I can make time."

* * *

"Huh... Where am I," I groaned as I slowly sat up finding myself laying out in a field during the middle of the night.

_Could have sworn the last thing that happened was me making out with that stud muffin. I think we were going to go further but..._

"Oh right, Hyde got a little defensive and knocked us out," I groaned as I turned around to look at my shadow yelling at it.

"I can't believe you cockblocked me! Why in the hell did you... Oh nevermind," I moaned as I started to get up as I started walking towards the giant tower spiraling up in the sky.

_Now that I thought about it_, I looked down to see that I was wearing completely different clothes than when I was working.

I was wearing my witch gear, with the black leather zippered-top, high-waisted blue shorts, stockings, and ankle-high leather booties. I even reached for my head to see I was wearing my giant floppy witch hat. The strangest thing of all was not my clothes but the fact that I had the purple and magenta-colored chain protruding out of my chest.

"Does this mean that I'm awake then? Haven't seen this when I was doing all that heart spelunkings," I groaned as I noticed that the chain was pointing straight in front of me like an arrow.

The spellbook was nowhere in sight but it was obnoxious and eerie having a phantom chain sticking out of my body.

_I wonder where I am,_ I thought to myself as I kept wandering until I saw lights twinkling above me.

I snapped my fingers, hoping to call a Heartless for a ride but to no avail. I cursed at the sky in annoyance as I realized I was going to be getting around on foot.

As I kept walking up the spiral staircase, I made a final dash to find myself tripping at the top. I could feel myself tumbling before I caught myself on a rock.

"Son on a... What is that" I gasped as I looked up at the sparkling castle above me. I slowly got up to my feet as I walked around feeling weird like I was intruding. If it wasn't for the exhausting trip up the mountain, I wouldn't have noticed how beautiful the castle in front of me was.

_Maybe I can get some help from here and get home. Kind of makes me wonder if Hyde sent me to another world by accident, _I thought to myself as I started walking towards the steps. As I creaked the giant door opened, I glanced around to see the ornate marble floor while sparkling lights covered the ceiling.

"This is stunning," I said out loud as the only sounds were the door closing behind me and my heels clicking on the floor.

"Hello? Is anybody there?" I called out as I walked along the hallway admiring the architecture. Something about this place... It reminded me of the Castle that Never Was, but at the same time, I could feel the free-forming energy that once echoed through these halls.

I found a staircase and started to slowly make my way up the steps. The further I kept walking, the more I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. Before I made it up to the first floor, I heard the sounds of footsteps running towards me.

I could feel my body scream _RUN_ but all I could muster was dashing down those stairs as fast as I came. Before I made it to the bottom, I felt something grab my wrist and immediately pull me back.

"How did you get in here?"

I gritted my teeth ready to start kicking and punching with all my might until I turned my head around to face them. I just raised my eyebrow as I found myself looking up at someone wearing a suit of armor.

If that wasn't weird, the tackiness of the red, gold and dark brown made it really stand out. I glanced down to see that their gloved hand was gripping my wrist tightly as they pulled me towards them, completely towering over me.

"I don't even know where _here_ is!" I snapped as I tried to pull my hand away from their grip but to no avail.

They shifted their head as it looked like they were looking at me through their visor. "Wait... You're...! You need to come with me," The voice spoke up from the suit of armor. From what I could hear, it was definitely a man's voice from how deep it sounded.

I shook my head before trying to use my other hand to unlatch myself from their grip, "Why would I wanna go with you?!"

He seemed to mutter something underneath his breath as he suddenly spoke loud enough for me to hear, "Sorry for doing this."

"Sorry for wh- HEY!" I squeaked in embarrassment as he quickly picked me up and slung me over his shoulder, having a firm grip on my waist.

"Put me down!" I screeched as I slammed my fists against his back as he carried me back up the stairway he came from. I could hear my hits echo against his armor like he was hollow on the inside.

I could feel myself hold my breathe in the sheer terror that this castle has ghosts in armor trying to possess bodies. "I don't want to have my body possessed by ghosts!" I wailed in more of a panicked frenzy as the person struggled to hold me still.

"W-will you cut that out?! I want to show you something!" They said in a last-ditch effort to keep me from breaking free. I stopped struggling realizing he wasn't going to let go as I whined, "I promise to free your spirit from that armor if you let me go?"

That seemed to have triggered something as he pulled me from his shoulder and carried me bridal style, looking down at me. I couldn't tell what their expression was from the visor since I could only see my reflection but I heard their voice ask quietly, "Could you really do that?"

_Holy shit, I was kidding but oh my god he's going to kill me!_ I bit my bottom lip to keep myself from freaking out as I nodded slowly, "Ah... Yeah, sure. Why not. Can you... put me down?"

They hesitated for a second before they slowly put me down on my feet. I sighed as I dusted myself off before looking up at them, "Thank you. Now..."

I summoned a broom and jumped on it in one swift move, "SEE YOU SUCKER!" Before they could stop me, I flew up the rest of the staircase and steered myself around the corridor.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I glanced around looking for an opening. I could see an open window coming up, so I gripped onto the handle of the broom tightly before I took a sharp turn finding myself flying outside of the castle.

I flew up high up and turned around hopefully putting enough distance between me and the armored fellow.

"Phew, that would have been a bad time," I mumbled to myself before I glanced down to see something burst out from the main castle entrance.

My heart jumped into my throat once I realized that the armored man was riding what looked like a flying motorbike and heading straight towards me.

"Motherfucker isn't going to let this slide, and he's definitely not a ghost. He's a demon!" I said hysterically as I tried to move out of the way noticing that he was charging straight at me on his bike.

"Wait, Audri! Please wait!" They shouted as they chased after me through the starry night.

I glanced back nervously as I heard them calling my name. _Who **are** they?_ I thought to myself before I started slowing down.

I could feel a sharp pain in my heart that I suddenly grabbed my chest. I gasped, as it felt like thousands of needles were in my lungs and the chain in my chest was trying to keep me from running away. I could feel myself slipping from my broom as I plummeted to the ground below me.

I looked up with tears coming from my eyes as I noticed the armored man suddenly turned his bike 90 degrees and was charging straight at me.

As I felt my body crumbling under the pressure in my chest, I could see the man jumping from his bike and lunging straight at me with his arms extended out.

I could feel my arm slowly reaching out for their grasp as I noticed that their visored helmet had fallen off during the fall as he reached for me.

My vision started to go black as I could see a familiar face with brown spiky hair and blue eyes looking at me with worry on their face.

* * *

I groaned as I rolled around on the ground, feeling the pain in my chest subside as I lied there feeling something smooth underneath me.

_Come on, get up you stupid fuck..._ I thought to myself as I slowly opened my eyes up to see that I was staring up at a ceiling.

_Ceiling? How did I...?_ I started to feel my thoughts coming back to me. The suit of armor, flying outside and...

"Looks like you're finally awake."

I opened my eyes wide as I sat up immediately turning to the source. I looked in bewilderment and confusion as I looked to see the armored man...

No, the armored new Xehanort sitting on one of the three thrones in the vast training room. He still was covered in armor from the neck down as the helmet-visor he wore earlier was resting at his feet.

Propped against the throne, I found my eyes glancing over a Keyblade that looked quite different from what he had when I first encountered him at Castle of Dreams. It was a teal mechanical hilt with a golden blade with a jagged edge.

"Who the hell are you," I started to ask before I noticed that the chain protruding from my chest was attached to the deep purple spellbook that was sprawled on the floor with opened pages at his feet.

He looked down at me with a small sigh escaping his lips as he leaned his cheek onto his fist, "Even if I did tell you the truth, I think you've had enough nonsense in your life."

I slowly raised myself to my feet as I stood in front of him eyeing his movement.

_He doesn't seem like threatening me, so I should be okay._ I thought to myself as I took a few steps forward until we were less than 20 feet apart from where he sat.

"Try me. I have no idea where I am, and you look like someone I know. But yet you feel... Something feels off. Completely different even," I said trying to keep the toxicity tone down as I still felt a little on edge.

The answer I gave seemed to have changed his mood as I saw his blue eyes sparkle as he slowly stood up from the throne he was sitting on. Like he was given a second chance.

"My name is Terra, and the one you know named Master Xehanort is the reason I'm here now," the brunette named Terra explained as I raised an eyebrow at him, "Master Xehanort? Wait... Okay, time out."

I held my hand out for a second before taking in a deep breath before gesturing towards Terra, "Where is _here_?"

"Oh, this is my heart."

I just stood there for a second trying to read his face to see if he was lying, but he looked sincere. I brought my hands up about to speak but I turned around looking around the room.

I glanced around to see the beautiful architecture, the lovely stained glass at the end of the massive room that had the moonlight casting through, before I turned back to Terra standing in front of me with an amused look on his face.

"I'm sorry, did you say that this is inside _your _heart?" I asked gesturing fingers to the floor as I slowly walked towards him as he nodded.

"Which means that somehow, I ended up _inside_ of your heart, and not another world? Am I understanding this clearly?" I asked as I could feel my bosy tense up as I stood in front of the armored man.

"Exactly!" Terra said as he held his hands out in a warming gesture, feeling like I had finally solved a hard math question.

I just looked around my surroundings again before I raised my hand and jabbing my finger at his armored chest, "Terra, you have lots of explaining to do."

* * *

"Any questions?" Terra asked as I paced around the throne room as Terra was sitting on the middle throne again.

I whipped my head towards him before grabbing my hat and tossing it up in the air as it levitated.

I started running my fingers through my messy hair as I spoke, "Long story short, Master Xehanort is an evil bad guy who is manipulating Keyblade wielders to become part of his X-Blade, which that part I knew. What I didn't know is that his plan failed so he decided to possess your body so he could try again in the future?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Terra said crossing his arms over his chest as I stopped pacing as I turned to face him.

I wasn't sure what face I was making but the look on Terra's weary face was breaking my heart more than it already was.

"Wow, that... I... Fuck, I'm sorry Terra, but to be in here for 12 years..." I started to say as he shook his head.

"Don't worry about it Audri. I can see what goes on on the outside, or I can feel what it is. Even though Xehanort possessed my body, I can still dream and know what's going on. That's also why I know who you are already."

I started to feel a blush creep to my cheeks as I laughed nervously glancing away, "I-is that so? Then I would like to apologize for making out with Xehanort even though you are-"

"Handsome?" Terra said with a cocky smile as I bit my bottom lip turning around trying to hide my embarrassment.

"...Yes."

"Well, to my first question then. Any idea on how you got here in the first place?" Terra asked as I walked over to him shaking my head.

"Sorry Terra but no clue. I know that I got knocked out by my Heartless while I was... well, you know," I could feel my face was burning up as he looked at me raising an eyebrow.

"Your Heartless? Like you own or control one?" Terra asked as I fidgeted with my hands a little bit, "Ah, yeah... I'm not human. I'm just a creature of darkness apparently."

I glanced up to see that he had this thoughtful look on my face as he looked up at me with a smile, "I don't think you can be a creature of darkness."

I felt myself blink trying to understand if I heard him correctly as his smile got bigger, "I don't think that someone who is made of pure darkness could have as much concern and worry over someone they just met."

I quickly turned around as I slapped my hands over my face feeling myself starting to lose it.

_Goddammit he's so sweet it's giving me cavities_, I thought to myself cursing that this wasn't under better circumstances before I glanced back at him trying to stay serious, "I don't know if I should be taking compliments from the man who's locked inside his own heart."

"Probably not, but who says that I can't be honest while we're both here?" Terra said with a sincere smile crossing his face as he stood up.

I felt myself freeze up as he walked over holding his hand out to me.

"Since we both seem to be in a messy situation because of Master Xehanort, why don't we stick together?" Terra asked as I looked up at his face.

I started to reach for my hand before I hesitated looking up at him. "Terra, I would but I don't think I can. I don't think I have a place within the light, even if I did try to switch sides from Xehanort's forces," I said with a trickle of doubt sinking into my heart.

"Audri." I flinched looking up at him, not used to being called by name without there being disappointment hidden in those words, but I saw the look on his face.

His eyes sparkled with hope and concern with a warming smile, warmer than my flustered face ever since he took his helmet off.

He started to speak before getting down on one knee in front of me, "I don't believe that darkness is your only path. I know because I've been there, and I'm still fighting against it. You're my only hope to help me. Please, I trust you with my life." He placed one hand on his chest where his heart was as he looked up at me.

My heart stopped for a second as I looked down at him. A keyblade wielder was trusting someone he didn't know... with his life?

I felt drawn to his courage and sincerity as I reached out grabbing his hand. Terra seemed surprised as I clamped my other hand around his, gripping the armored hand tightly, "I promise I'll get you out of here Terra."

The next thing we knew, I felt the chain on my chest being tugged as I saw the spellbook behind Terra lifting up in the air as the pages started to glow. He turned around seeing my confused expression as we glanced back at each other.

Next thing we knew, a corridor of light appeared from the pages as I could see an image from the other side.

As we both got closer, I realized that it was my flower shop and that the chain was pulling towards the image. I glanced around the scene to see that TerraX was unconscious with the purple chain entering his chest from the other end as he lied there motionless.

"It's... like a linked connection. So that means that..." I started to say placing a hand over my heart as I glanced back at him, "I physically waltzed right into your hearts?"

"It looks like it. This also looks like your way out," Terra said placing a hand on my head as he held my witch hat in his other. I nodded as I grabbed the hat from him as I walked towards the corridor.

I stopped before reaching the book before glancing back at the armored Terra. I smiled as I gestured a two-finger salute, "I'll come back soon! It's a promise."

He smiled as he waved before I turned back around jumping through the corridor.

* * *

I slowly opened up my eyes as I stumbled to the floor as the chain and portal diminished into thin air. I shook off the sudden dizziness as I glanced over to see Terra-Xehanort slowly coming to.

_Guess that solves one mystery to these powers now. Nice to know that they can't wake up until I'm out,_ I thought to myself as I crawled over to Terra-Xehanort, noticing a massive bruise on his arm.

"Xehanort, are you alright?" I asked softly as he glanced up at me, blinking in surprise realizing where he was.

"Ah... Yeah. Sorry about pissing off your Heartless," He muttered quietly as I snorted, "Hyde will have to get used to it if you come around here more often."

He smirked as he brought his hand to my cheek rubbing his thumb against my jaw. "I'd like that," He whispered about to go in for a kiss before the front door opened.

We both glanced up to see Xigbar and Rauxdi standing in the doorway with bags of groceries.

Rauxdi tensed up as she grabbed onto Xigbar's arm as he raised an eyebrow at the both of us, "What are you two doing on the floor?"

"N-nothing!" I said with a blush as I glanced over at the clock to see that it was 9:30pm.

_Shit guess we've been out for a few hours_, I thought to myself as Terra-Xehanort stood up before helping me off the ground.

"Sorry about running into you like that," Terra-Xehanort said with a smug smile on his face as I laughed slapping his shoulder, "It happens! Sorry that I don't have anything for that bruise!"

"I'll see you later then, gotta get back to the others," Terra-Xehanort said as he quickly walked back Xigbar and Rauxdi as he exited through a dark corridor outside.

Xigbar and Rauxdi raised eyebrows as they looked at me.

"Are you okay Audri?" Rauxdi said rushing to my side as I nodded, "Could be better. But it was a... good day! I do think that he's pretty cute. Maybe I should ditch Ansem for h-"

"NO!" Rauxdi and Xigbar shouted at the same time, making me almost jump out of my skin as I leaned back against the wall.

I glanced to see the uncomfortable expressions between the two of them as I pointed a finger at the Sharpshooter, "By the way, what brings you here Xigbar?"

"Oh! Well, I ran into Rauxdi in town and... I actually wanted to tell you guys that Sora is on the move again," He said as he placed the bag of groceries on the counter as I flinched.

"Oh... Is that so?" I asked as I felt my thumb stroking against the star pendant that belonged to Rauxdi.

"I think it's best if Rauxdi comes with me and that you try to lay low as well. Or at least try to not draw attention to yourself," Xigbar said as I glanced over at the Nobody, "Are you okay with that Raux? I know that you've been..."

"It's fine," Rauxdi said with a look of pain crossing her face as I held my tongue, not wanting to argue against her decision to leave.

"Right, well I'll leave you two with your groceries then," Xigbar said about to make his way to the door before I called out, "Hang on. Xigbar?"

He stopped and glanced over at me with curiosity in his eyes.

"Do... Do you want to help Rauxdi pack if she's going to be leaving? I can make dinner for us and all," I said trying to break the tension.

Xigbar blinked in surprise as he smirked walking over to ruffle my hair, "Sure thing kiddo. I knew that you like having a strong man around the house."

"I regret my decision already," I said pulling his hand away as Rauxdi snorted trying to hold back a laugh.

While Xigbar took the opportunity to take the groceries for Rauxdi into the kitchen, I put my head back against the wall as I closed my eyes trying to calm down.

_I'll try and find a way to help you Terra_, I thought to myself before I slowly got up and went back to the small apartment to start dinner.


	12. Going with the Flow

I was walking through Twilight Town returning from the train station as I heard my phone go _ping_.

I slowly pulled it out of my pocket as I noticed the text chain that Larxene started. _Oh boy. Here we go_, I thought to myself as I opened up the message.

**Larxene**: -attachment sent-

**Larxene**: Guys, tell me that the view is the best thing you've ever seen!

I clicked on the photo to see a preview of a beautiful mountain landscape that seemed to show a small village town at the edge of the water.

**Audri**: Holy shit that's amazing Larxene!

**Marluxia**: Oh yeah? Take a look at this place I'm at.

**Marluxia**: -attachment sent-

I clicked on Marluxia's photo and raised an eyebrow to see that it was a picture of a spooky swampland area.

**Marluxia**: Shit, I sent the wrong one. Hang on.

**Marluxia**: -attachment sent-

I opened it and groaned as I saw that he took a selfie by a beautiful lake with a towering castle behind him.

**Demyx**: Sorry Larxene, Marluxia's recon location wins.

**Larxene**: Fuck you Demyx!

**Audri**: You guys are so lucky, I wish that I was on recon right now at someplace cool.

**Marluxia**: Why not ask Master Xehanort? He's got a few of the others just monitoring the other worlds right now in rotation. Maybe he can squeeze you in somehow.

**Audri**: I thought about it, but I got a side project I'm working on.

**Larxene**: You mean the flower shop? I think they'll be okay if you close for a day.

I laughed nervously to myself as I stood in a nearby alleyway to let other pedestrians walk past me.

_If I told them that I'm trying to help a fallen Keyblade hero take back his body, I don't think it would smooth over well_, I thought to myself as I glanced at the text message pop up.

**Demyx**: Oh no, she's talking about her stalking thing.

**Marluxia**: I'm sorry but what are you talking about?

**Larxene**: Tell me what's shaking girl. Ansem cheating on your ass?

**Audri**: Dammit Demyx. Never telling you anything on the side again. No, he's not cheating, I'm just...

**Demyx**: Stalking.

**Audri**: Okay, maybe it's called stalking in other worlds, because I'm just curious!

**Marluxia**: As much as I hate that you're off the spinstress table, just don't get in trouble.

**Audri**: Come on, what type of trouble can I get into?

**Marluxia**: ...

**Larxene**: Dude...

**Demyx**: Sorry Audri, but we know you're a trouble magnet.

I just scoffed to myself as I shoved my hand into my pocket before I dashed over to grab onto the back of the passing tram taking me towards home.

After a few minutes, I jumped off and rolled to break my fall as I landed near my shop. As I started walking towards the door, I could hear some voices in front of my shop.

"She should be here, she's the best person to ask about gossip in this town!" I heard Pence's voice as I got closer.

"I wonder if she is out doing errands. I noticed that she's living by herself again..." Olette's voice rang through the air as Hayner piped up, "Ms Blanca! Are you in?!"

I slammed my hand on the brick building as I glanced around the corner with a smile on my face, "Hey kids! How can I help..."

I blinked as I found myself staring at Hayner, Pence, Olette with Sora, Donald, and Goofy looking at me.

"YOU?!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked at me with shock drawing their weapons.

My body felt like it was burning all over the second the keyblade was drawn out. I ground my teeth before whistling, "POSSY!" The Possessor Heartless appeared on the door of the shop before trying to swipe at Sora and his friends snarling.

"WOAH, HANG ON GUYS!" Pence shouted getting in between us as Sora looked at them in shock, "You know her? She was with Organization XIII!"

"I don't know if I believe you, she's been so nice as far as I've seen! Everyone is town has loved having her around since she moved here months ago," Olette said standing by my side as I felt tense knowing how my body reacted with the keyblade in such close proximity. But knowing that the three locals were defending me did put a small feeling of gratitude on my face.

Sora looked at me with daggers as he gripped his keyblade.

Hayner walked over and held his hands out in front like he was protecting me, "Sora. Even though you're our friend, she is our friend too. She's putting her past behind her and trying to rebuild for the future. Why not leave what's in the past, in the past?"

Sora looked at the three Twilight friends in front of him before unsummoning his weapon. I could feel a wave of cold heat wash over my body as I realized how dangerous the keyblade is.

I snorted as I walked over patting Hayner's shoulder, "At ease hotshot. I appreciate you kids defending me. But I don't think Sora and his pals are going to be forgiving."

"But before I forgive you for bringing the enemy right to my doorstep, what are you doing here," I asked directing the question to Sora, Donald, and Goofy as I let out a low whistle.

The Possessor Heartless calmed down and it disappeared into another part of the house.

"We're looking for Roxas," Sora said as I felt my body tense up again. I raised my eyebrow as I started to raise my hand but placed it over my mouth.

_Does he not know that Roxas is a part of him? Or is this idiot trying to do something else_, I thought to myself as I sighed. "I don't want to invite you in to my house, so let's go get a bite and talk in neutral territory."

* * *

"This is the dumbest plan I have ever heard. Follow your heart and you'll find Roxas? This is the real world kid, not a damn fairy tale," I said sipping a cup of coffee as Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked at me with annoyance.

I sent Hayner, Pence, and Olette off as I didn't want the kids to get involved, but it seems that Sora already asked them to try and find other people that knew Roxas.

"Well, do you have a better idea of where we can find Roxas?" Sora asked as I placed my cup down on the saucer.

"From what you told me, you already know that Roxas is in your heart, I guess I'm confused as to why you need him," I said drumming my fingers on the table.

"I... want Roxas to live. Have a normal life and not be a part of me. He had a heart and friends," Sora started to say as I clenched my fist.

"Heh, I know a few people that would like you. Or they already do," I said with a smile as I traced my finger along the edge of the cup. "So, will you help us?" Goofy asked as Donald grabbed a biscuit for himself.

"Only if you answer my questions truthfully. I might be not a guard dog for Organization XIII anymore, but they are still keeping me on the line just in case I change my mind," I said gazing across the table at them with my orange-golden eyes. Sora glanced between his friends before nodding with hesitation.

"Where are the other completed members hiding?" I asked as I folded my hands as they looked at me in surprise.

"You mean the other..."

"You mentioned that Ienzo and a few others have decided against rejoining their side. And I was there when Axel saved you from becoming Xehanort's vessel," I started to explain as the fear sparked in their eyes.

"What do you plan to do with this info?" Donald asked eyeing me down as I sighed leaning back in my chair.

"Before you meddled with worlds and Organization XIII saw you as a threat, I lived with them for a few years. Kidnapped me from my world yet forced me to live life like nothing ever happened. Instead of resentment, I became fond of them. If you can see it, behind the twisted nature of their cause, they were all good people. I fell in love and I was happy until you... well, eliminated everyone," I explained crossing my arms over my chest as they looked at me.

"You don't plan to do anything awful?" Sora asked as I stuck my tongue out, "If I accidentally crack their backs giving them a hug, then you can hunt me down."

* * *

"Hey guys!" I said holding my arms out to my side as I stood in the middle of the castle office as Ienzo, Dilan, and Aeleus were looking at me with their jaws dropped.

"How did you find us," Ienzo said backing up in nervousness as Dilan and Aeleus jumped in front of the scientist with their weapons drawn out.

"Hey, hey! Easy with the weapons. I asked Sora about your coordinates," I said eyeing the three of them as I held my hands in front of me.

The three of them glanced around at each other before Ienzo sighed, "Guys, at ease. Even though I'm concerned because this is Audri, I think she means no harm."

The two of them sighed before I laughed nervously having my arms still open, "Can I get a hug from my favorite knuckleheads?"

Ienzo smirked as Aeleus and Dilan looked away a little embarrassed as I ran over bringing them over into a tight hug. "Fuck I miss you guys," I said with tears running down my face as Dilan pat his gloved hand on my head.

"Glad to see you're still kicking ass kiddo," Dilan said with a sigh escaping his lips as Aeleus nodded quietly.

"Of course," I said breaking the hug as they went back to their duties. Ienzo walked over placing a hand on my shoulder with a weak smile, "The fact that you're here after Sora talked to you means that you're here for another purpose."

"Sort of. But I need you to keep it a secret," I said placing a finger to his lips. Ienzo blinked in surprise as a blush crossed his cheeks.

"What did you have in mind," Ienzo coughed nervously as I pulled him into a hug, "First, bear hug. Second, I need some clarification on this whole goose chase Sora is on."

Ienzo smiled as he returned the hug before pulling away glancing back at the hallway behind us, "I found some data in our old terminal relating to Sora's data that our old teacher Ansem the Wise had on him." "Data on Sora?" I asked raising an eyebrow as he nodded.

"He was the one that had Roxas kidnapped to restore him in Sora. But he found it surprising that they could coexist as if they were sharing the same heart. I shared the data I found with Sora and... well, you know the rest," Ienzo said sheepishly as I stood there tapping my foot on the carpeted floor.

"Hm, well that makes more sense than what he explained to me," I said placing a fist under my chin as Ienzo laughed, "He's... not the brightest kid. But he makes up for it in heart."

"If you say so, do you mind giving me your number so I can ask you for questions any time?" I said pulling my phone out of my pocket as he nodded. "Of course, and... I wanted to ask you something while you're here," Ienzo said as he punched his number into my phone.

I nodded as he glanced at me with a concerned look on his face, "Isa and Even were gone when we woke up. I know that Lea is helping Sora out so I'm not so worried about him. But the other two... Have you seen them?"

I nodded as I grabbed his hand firmly, "Isa and Even were turned back into Nobodies. They... Right now, Saix is a vessel for Xehanort's heart, and Evan has been making replicas for their bodies and souls to exist in the present. I'll try and keep an eye out for them. I'm afraid what's going to happen if they realize I might fuck them over."

Ienzo raised an eyebrow at me as I grinned bringing his hands to my lips as I gave his knuckles a quick kiss, "That's another secret you got to keep."

Ienzo blushed as he smiled looking down at me, "You have really grown up Audri. Also... Thank you for knowing what I wanted to ask of you."

"Duh, you guys were all like family," I said giving him a quick wave as I summoned a dark corridor. "I'll keep in touch," I said shoving my phone into my pocket as Ienzo waved goodbye before returning to his work.

* * *

"Holy shit, you're alive?" Lea cackled as he spun me around in his arms. "Dude! That's my line," I said with a stupid grin on my face as I ruffled his hair. "How did you...?" Lea asked as I held my phone up grinning, "Sora is a massive pain but he means well."

"Sora?" I heard a small voice speak up behind me as I felt Lea place me on the ground. I glanced back to see Kairi walking over to us with a pad of paper in hand. I waved my hand as she stopped walking, hesitating to come near me.

_Oh that's right, I didn't exactly meet her on the best of terms_, I thought to myself as Lea put his hand on my shoulder, "Hey Kairi, relax. She's just the messenger!"

"Actually, I do have some news for you Lea," I said moving his hand away from my shoulder as I sat down. I glanced over at Kairi and sighed through my nose.

"Kairi, girl. If you don't take that paranoia stick out of your ass, I'm going to give you a noogie," I said trying to not sound threatening as both Lea and Kairi sat on a log across from me.

I clapped my hands over as I sighed glancing at the two redheads in front of me. "Well, first off. Congrats on changing sides you big pyromaniac," I said with a grin as Lea smirked.

"I do have some good news for you, sort of. Sora is trying to find a way to bring Roxas back, as long as he doesn't kill himself," I said muttering the last part under my breath as Lea looked at me in surprise.

"You're kidding...! I can get my best friend back!" Lea said shaking Kairi's shoulder like a ragdoll. I laughed nervously waiting for him to calm down. "The bad news is about Isa... Or uh, Saix," I said scratching the back of my head as I noticed Lea's attitude changed to a sober one.

"He's a vessel for Master Xehanort if you've realized by now. I just wanted to let you know that he's still under Xemnas' thumb. I wish I had better news for that," I said quietly as Lea walked over and tightly embraced me.

I could feel his body trembling as he spoke, "Just knowing that he's around helped. Thank you Audri. I know you didn't have to do this."

"Well, not without a price," I said as he let go of me. I glanced over at Kairi as she sat there hesitating.

"Relax, not going to bite. But if it makes you feel better, Sora is okay," I said crossing my arms as I noticed the air around her changed from an anxious mood to a calm nature. _She's easy to please_, I thought to myself as Lea sat down next to me, "What do you need Audri?"

"Well... I feel bad not asking Sora when I was talking to him earlier, but what is your big plan to take down Xehanort?" I asked as he and Kairi exchanged a look between themselves.

"The current plan is to stop him from recreating the Keyblade War, but the how and when is the tricky part," Kairi said meekly as I crossed my arms over my chest sighing.

_So their plan is to go in guns a-blazing. Not the best, but it's all these folks got..._ I thought to myself as Lea nodded, "I heard that King Mickey and Riku are supposed to be searching for three other keyblade masters to help us!"

I dug my fingernails into the log underneath me as I glanced between them, "More Keyblade Masters?"

"They were there when Xehanort first tried to use Kingdom Hearts, from what I heard they went missing after a big battle," Lea said patting a hand on my shoulder as I nodded.

"I see, I think I got all the information that I wanted. I'll keep an eye out for you if I come across them, but first..." I handed my phone over to Lea as he realized what I was asking for.

After he finished punching in their contact information, I grabbed the phone gesturing it to Kairi. I closed my eyes and tried to crack a sincere smile, "Stay strong kiddo. I wish we were friends under better terms, ya hear?"

Kairi looked between me and Lea with surprise as she nodded, "S-sure!" I gestured a small farewell wave as I summoned a dark corridor to go back home.

* * *

I started walking through Twilight Town as I held a pad of paper and pencil in my hands.

"So if I understand this correctly, everyone is just hoping that Master Xehanort's plan doesn't come through at all," I mumbled to myself as I slowly walked through town.

_As much as I don't want to get involved with any of this, I guess I got pushed into the deep end once I met Terra_, I thought to myself as I started picking up the pace.

Buried in thoughts and conflicted feelings as I walked, I suddenly didn't realize that I found myself bumping into the wall. "Ow, fuck, what the hell," I grumbled in annoyance before realizing I heard a clicking noise behind me.

I glanced around my surroundings before realizing that I ended up on one of the trolleys in the Train Station.

"W-wait, hang on!" I shouted going towards the door before seeing that the trolley was already pulling out of the station. I just facepalmed and groaned in frustration before realizing that no one else was on the train.

_As much as I could use make a corridor to bail, I'm worried that I absent-mindedly already paid for a ticket_, I thought to myself as I stepped over to sit down on the bench.

I put the pad of paper into my hoodie pocket before glancing out the window, seeing Twilight Town disappear on the horizon as the sun started to set.

I smiled as I crossed my arms and leaned my head down, _At least the view is nice._

I closed my eyes for a second before I could feel a massive energy pulse washing over the train. I groaned slowly opening my eyes before realizing that the train was floating on a magical track and heading straight for a small floating island.

"Oh god, am I in another person's heart?" I started to groan in frustration realizing that if closing my eyes was going to walk me into someone else's heart forcefully, I'm going to need to drink coffee to stay awake.

I quickly slapped my chest and patted down my clothes to see that there was no magenta chain protruding from my chest and my clothes were still the same from this morning.

_If I'm still awake, where am I?_ I thought to myself as the train pulled up to the island and suddenly the doors slid open.

I dashed off the train and got onto the floating island to see some trees and a giant twisting, hideous yellow tower. I glanced back to see if I could get back on the train but it was gone, disappeared without a trace.

"Well, shit." I moaned as I looked back at the tower in front of me.

I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as I started to slowly make my way up to the tower's steps. As I got closer, I could feel massive amounts of magic pulsing from the top of the tower, and it was starting to make me nervous.

_I really do cause trouble for myself_, I thought with a light-hearted chuckle escaping my lips as I pushed the door open and saw the spiraling staircase.

"Stairs. Of course, it has to be stairs," I said sarcastically before I summoned my broom and flew my way straight up to the top. As I quickly landed over the ledge of the staircase, I could see a single wooden door in front of me.

I started to make my way over before I heard voices from the other side of the door.

"...You know that it is too dangerous for... going to the Realm..." I heard muffled dialogue as I pressed my ear to the door.

"But... Sid, please don't worry... Riku and I are going... Aqua." I found feel my brain lock that last sentence in for some strange reason as my heart started to pound.

"Wait... Is something wrong?" I heard a voice say as I heard faint noises from the other side. Total silence fell as my heart began to pound harder in my chest.

Next thing I knew, I was flat on my face and found the ground underneath me. "I thought someone was listening in on us," I heard a male voice call out as I was suddenly dragged off the floor and being slammed against the wall with enough force to crack my back a tiny bit.

I gritted my teeth as I found myself glaring up at a pair of seafoam green eyes under whisps of silver hair. I raised my eyebrow as I noticed this man, no... this kid was holding me by the scruff of my hoodie.

_Why does this kid seem so familiar..._

"Who are you and how did you-"

"Wait Riku!" I heard a familiar high pitched voice squeak out as I glanced behind the kid's shoulders to see a familiar mouse.

"You know this girl Mickey?" I heard another voice speak up as I could see the other figure in the room, and I could feel my body started to agitate. I glanced to see that Mickey had his keyblade out and even though he wasn't breathing down your next, that wasn't what scared me.

The power coming off of the bearded old man in the blue robes and star-speckled wizard hat was immense. And I could feel myself in danger.

"She was someone who helped us get to Organization XIII's headquarters to take down Xemnas! She disappeared just after being attacked by another member but..." Mickey started to explain as I rolled my eyes, "Thank you your Majesty, but if you could tell your little brat here to-"

"You're the one that was possessed by darkness and was going to kill us!" The boy said, making me whip my attention to him.

I could see the anger in his eyes as I sighed. "Listen, Riku was it? I don't remember much about that night except for the bits and pieces people have filled me in. I just saw all your other allies so if you don't mind, I'm trying to put together-"

"Enough. Riku, put her down. Without your replacement, you can't take the young lady down in a fight. Which, I would like a word with you," The old man said as Riku looked at the old master hesitantly before loosening his grip and stepping away.

I patted myself down as I crossed my arms walking over to the desk in the middle of the room.

I could feel the anxiety slipping off my body as he closed his eyes.

"I heard that you were the girl Sora encountered on his journies a few times. They planned to bring you to me to interrogate you on Organization XIII's plans on Kingdom Hearts. But now... I see it does not matter now," He said as I raised my eyebrow at him as I could feel my brain bringing up old memories.

"So you're Master Yen Sid," I stated as he nodded opening his eyes to cast a wary gaze through my soul.

I flinched as I saw him sigh, "What is your purpose to seek out our allies?"

"Information. I'm looking into a... personal manner of my own," I explained, not wanting to give any other information than needed.

His gaze went cold as he slowly stood up from his chair, "I appreciate you guiding Sora in the past, but make no mistake that I should keep you prisoner for trespassing."

"But I got lost! I didn't mean to ride the train here, which is weird by itself for it to do!" I barked slamming my hands on the desk as I could hear Mickey and Riku gasp like they were prepared to attack me.

"Even so. A Heartless of your power means nothing in the shifting tides of the war that is at our doorstep," Yen Sid said as I dug my fingernails into the wooden desk.

_So he can smell the darkness coming off of me, guess I shouldn't have underestimated him_, I thought to myself as Riku explained, "She's a Heartless?! Then that means that she's like Anse-"

"No. I... I don't understand it myself, but I've been like this all my life. I grew up with my Nobody and we..." I started to say as I placed my hand over my heart.

I could suddenly feel my heart pound erratically as I glanced around the room as Mickey approached Yen Sid and started to talk to him to defend me.

I tuned out their voices as I glanced to see a small bookcase against the wall near the door that I came in front.

I could feel my eyesight flicker as a single worn down tome stuck out to me with an ornate emblem etched on the side. I slowly walked over and slide the book from the shelf until I found myself snapping out of it from a suddenly forced cough.

I pressed the book to my chest as I glanced over to see Yen Sid sitting back down with Riku and Mickey flanking the sides of his desk.

"As I said, I will let you leave here. But if you come back to this place again, I will not be as welcoming," Yen Sid said coldly as I nodded, slowly tucking the book into my hoodie.

"Of... Course, don't wanna mess with the higher powers," I said as I suddenly summoned a dark corridor and made an escape, closing it before they could chase me.

"Should we go after her? We just saw her blatantly steal one of your books!" Riku asked as Yen Sid placed a hand on his chin, "I know you two didn't notice it, but..."

"But what?" Mickey asked as Yen Sid tapped his fingers on the desk, "Why did she specifically pick out the book on creating Heartbinders?"


	13. Double Date

"Thanks for helping me with my groceries, it's been a pain since Rauxdi left. I hate doing this all by myself," I said twisting my hair around my finger as I walked next to Terra-Xehanort.

He nodded as he flashed a smile holding my bags, "Let's just say that you can make me something for dinner and I'll call it almost even."

I frowned as I walked ahead of him to unlock the front door before I asked, "Almost even? What will make my debt go away for making you carry my food?"

I heard the bags drop to the ground before finding myself pinned to the door as I could feel Terra-Xehanort's chest against my back and his hands on both sides of me.

I could feel his breath tickle my neck as he whispered, "I think you know what I would want out of anything else."

I felt my heart pounding so hard that someone would think someone is knocking on the door. He gave a swift kiss to my shoulder before pulling back to pick up my bags.

_Oh my fucking god I'm going to have to write 'seduced by a possessed Keyblade wielder' on my tombstone if this keeps up_, I thought to myself as I fumbled with my key and swiftly opened the door.

It's been a few days since I left Yen Sid's tower with all my bones intact.

The book I took from Yen Sid's talks about the use of connection spells, and I think there was a reason I was drawn to it.

Even though it's been a few days, I've seen Ansem and Terra-Xehanort flock to my door more often, trying to help or find their way into my bed.

Ansem has been lucky, but ever since I made my way into his heart to find Terra imprisoned, I've been on edge around Terra-Xehanort.

I made my way to the kitchen as I started to strip off my sneakers and hoodie as I draped my outdoor wear all over the floor. Once I made it to the kitchen, I was wearing a loose tank top with a pair of extra-large boxers on for substitute shorts for around the house.

I tied my hair up into a ponytail before turning around to snatch the bags from Terra-Xehanorts's arms in one quick movement. He looked at my body in a primal way as he held the urge to launch himself into taking me right then and there.

I snapped my fingers as the Dark Hide and Possessor Heartless came out of hiding and helped me organize my cabinets and kitchen with all of the purchased food.

Terra-Xehanort bit his bottom lip in annoyance as he saw the Dark Hide glare in his direction and growl in a threatening manner.

_No way that they're going to let me near her. It's like she's still keeping her guard up even if she is flirting back with me_, He thought to himself as he walked over plastering a smile onto his face.

"What were you thinking about for dinner tonight?" Terra-Xehanort asked with a smile as I yawned, "Something simple like pasta if you're okay with that. Maybe some fresh berry salad on the side."

"Need some help?" He asked close enough that I could feel his hot breath barely graze against my ear.

I flinched and shrugged my shoulders trying to keep focus as I turned to him giving a small peck on the lips, "Don't worry about it. Mind cleaning up the mess of my clothes out in the hallway?"

"Sure thing princess," Terra-Xehanort said ruffling my hair before he walked out of the kitchen. As he started picking up the trail of loose clothing, he glanced up to see a dark corridor close in the front of the shop.

He raised an eyebrow, slowly making his way to the front before he got pulled to the side and pinned to the wall looking into a pair of amber eyes.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Ansem hissed as he looked down at Terra-Xehanort trying to seem like the bigger man.

"What does it look like?" Terra-Xehanort said with a smirk as Ansem's intimidation was rolling off of his body.

Ansem glanced at him before turning his attention to the hallway, "It looks like you're trying to get the witch around your finger when I already have her on mine for our sake."

Terra-Xehanort snorted as he shook Ansem's hands off of him, "Oh please. Why would she want a Heartless bastard when she could have a real man?"

Ansem held his breath in about to start berating the man but he heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

"Ansem? What are you doing here?" I asked surprised as I peeked around the corner to look at the two silver-haired men glancing between me.

"Ah, well... I wanted to come and check up on you is all since Rauxdi found her way back to Xigbar," Ansem started to explain as I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I see. It's not because I'm a lonely little girl that needs protection from the big bad keybladers, right?" I said trying to pretend like I was falling, making both men swallow hard as they realized how loose that tank top really was as they could get small peaks of my breasts.

"W-well, Master Xehanort has been cautious to make sure every step of the way that we stay on tra-"

"Want to eat dinner with us?" I said with a smile on my face as Ansem glanced at me in surprise.

"Dinner? Well I..." Ansem was cut off as he saw the death glare Terra-Xehanort was giving him out of the corner of his eye.

Ansem's attitude changed as he smirked to step away from Terra-Xehanort to plant a small kiss on my cheek, "I would love to stay for dinner. Hopefully, I'm not intruding."

"Not at all," I said with a blush crossing my face as I walked back down towards the kitchen. If looks could kill, Terra-Xehanort would have shot a hole through the back of Ansem's skull.

Ansem just smirked as he followed me to the kitchen, hovering close behind as he heard Terra-Xehanort grumbling under his breath.

"Hey, can one of you guys put a pot of water on and the other can help me get the pasta off the top shelf?" I asked glancing over to the top shelf above the kitchen sink.

Ansem was about to respond but Terra-Xehanort quickly cut in front of him and towered over me smiling, "Of course Audri. Let me help you with the pasta."

"Ah, thank you Xehanort," I said smiling over at Ansem, seeing him have a surprised look on his face.

As we went to get the giant pot from the other shelf, he glanced over to see Terra-Xehanort was grinding up against me as I was trying to point out which box I wanted him to take down.

"Almost have it," Terra-Xehanort groaned as I squeaked feeling his hand clamping onto my shoulder and trying to slide my strap down.

Ansem felt his eye twitch in annoyance as he quickly walked over, slamming the pot into the sink as he filled it with water.

I squeaked as I caught the other two boxes of pasta as Terra-Xehanort suddenly pulled away feeling Ansem's aura throwing him off.

The older man smirked as I glanced at both men, oblivious to their dominating natures.

"I'm glad that you guys get along, to be honest... I was nervous getting involved with the Organization again," I said with a smile on my face as they both looked at me as this was news to them.

"What do you mean?" Ansem asked as he carried the heavy pot of swooshing water to the stove.

"I didn't know what to expect with five versions of the same man, maybe assumed there would be some type of... power struggle for dominance between you all," I said laughing at the thought of the five versions of Xehanort getting into a cage match to duke it out.

"We all want the same thing, it's just better to have one of us in change," Terra-Xehanort said crossing his arms over his chest as I swiped the pasta from his hands.

Ansem side glanced at the newest Xehanort, wondering if that comment was more directed to him about wooing the Heartless girl.

"Either way, who wants to help cut veggies?" I said flashing a wicked grin as I held two rusted cleavers in my hands.

The two men just glanced at each other nervously before raising their hands.

* * *

"Hey, careful you too!" I giggled as I was starting to clean up the dishes we used to cook while the two men danced close behind me to grab platters and food to rest it on the kitchen table.

Ansem leaned close to kiss me swiftly on the temple before going to arrange the silverware on the table. Terra-Xehanort scowled before he grabbed the main pasta dish and placed it on the table.

Both men have not left the other with Audri alone since they started cooking. If anything, their skills to prepare the food almost ended in a dominance showdown over who can cut the vegetables faster.

Audri would have almost ended them if they lost another carrot on the dirty floor to Hyde as she kept eating things from her shadow.

In the end, they managed to calm down when they noticed that the Heartless girl were acting quite frustrated due to their idiocy to fight for her attention.

"Mind if I go get changed for a second? I got a lot of sauce over my clothes, and I gotta get these washed before they stain," I asked meekly as the both of them looked at me.

"N-no, go ahead! We can take care of setting dinner from here," Ansem said waving his hand as Terra-Xehanort nodded adjusting a fork on the table in due to his fidgeting nature.

I grinned as I quickly dashed down the hallway and started to strip my clothes off, trotting around the apartment in a pair of black women's briefs.

I started tossing my clothes around the room before I slide on a new pair of black shorts and a dark red cami top. I started brushing my hair in the mirror before I heard a knock at the door.

"I'll be out in a moment!" I called out not turning my attention away before I saw the door open quickly and close just as fast. I turned around to see Terra-Xehanort standing there with a smirk on his lips.

"What hurricane came through here?" He chuckled quietly as I scowled walking towards him, "The same one who had to pick up after in the hallway, _thank you_."

"Of course, but I still haven't been rewarded for it..." Terra-Xehanort said in a whisper as I tried to walk past him about to open the door.

"That sounds a little selfish of you expecting a reward," I stated, not facing him before I felt a hand spin me around until Terra-Xehanort had me pinned back to the door, hands on both sides of my hips as he leaned over me.

"Selfish or not, you are in enough trouble as it is, inviting two men into your house and dressing like you are?" He whispered as he leaned down to plant a kiss on my exposed collarbone.

"It's like you're inviting the wolves to devour you," Terra-Xehanort growled as I suddenly glanced away from him, feeling the heat rise from the pit in my stomach.

_Don't let this fucker get to you! Remember that he's using Terra's body, even if it is so... fit and sexy beyond hell_, I thought to myself as I laughed, shoving Terra-Xehanort's hands from my hips.

"W-we should get back to doing dinner," I said immediately, grabbing the door handle behind me and briefly went back to the kitchen.

Terra-Xehanort scowled for a moment before he saw Ansem peeking out from the other side of the door smirking.

"Don't. Say. It." Terra-Xehanort growled as he forced himself past the Heartless man while Ansem savored the moment in the younger Nort's rejection.

* * *

"Thanks for dinner, I can't believe you can cook something so amazing," Ansem said brushing his fingers lightly against my knuckles as my hands were laid out on the small kitchen table.

"Of course, and thank you Xehanort in taking care of the dishes, you didn't have to though!" I said glancing over to see the broad shoulders of the younger man scrubbing furiously at the dishes as he nodded in acknowledgment.

"Still, you didn't have to also get out the biggest jar of mead you had lying around the house either," Ansem said feeling the sweat rising off his face as I grinned grabbing the jug from the middle of the table, pouring into the three glasses on the table that had gone through many rounds of the enticing alcohol.

"Guys, please. I want to be the best host ever. Even if it means getting shitfaced." I said with a twinkle of innocence in my eyes as I started to chug my pint.

Terra-Xehanort finished with the last dish before walking over to the table to collapse in his chair, swiping his own glass.

"You know, this is a lot better than most nights around the others. Least there's _real_ good company here," He said with a smirk as Ansem almost bit his tongue as he chugged.

"So, what are the plans for the rest of the night?" Ansem asked, placing his glass down as I slammed my empty glass down looking at the two of them.

"What do you mean?" I cocked my head to the side as Terra-Xehanort snorted, "We mean if you are going out and if we should get out of your hair _princess_."

_Guess he's more of a lightweight than expected if his mannerisms are out the window_, Ansem thought to himself as I blushed, glancing away from the two men for a moment.

"I figured I could... entertain the two of you since I doubt you both are going back drunk," I said, letting my hair down from my ponytail as I batted my eyelashes at the two men sitting at my table.

Their eyes went wide for a second before they glanced at each other in some sort of agreement before they stood up from their chairs.

"Otherwise, I don't have any pl-" I was cut off as I found myself being swept off my feet as Ansem suddenly hoisted me around his shoulder.

I squeaked, about to protest but they were whispering between themselves as they started walking and we found ourselves in the spare bedroom.

It had a small twin bed with a massive plush couch and coffee table. It felt more like a small waiting room with a bed than a real bedroom.

I found myself tossed onto the large couch, bouncing on it for a second before the two men turned away from me. They seemed to keep talking for another minute before they turned to my small frame sitting on the couch looking up at the two of them.

Terra-Xehanort broke away first as he took a spot on the couch while Ansem sat on the opposite side of me.

"What's going on gu-"

I felt Terra-Xehanort pull me forward by the nape of my neck as he crashed his lips onto mine. I let out an audible groan as his tongue shoved its way into my mouth for dominance.

After what felt like a few moments, I was pulled back and turned around so I was facing Ansem.

I could feel the embarrassment wash over me realizing that he just watched me make out with one of the many Xehanort vessels before he cupped my face and placing a tender kiss on my lips. I could feel my eyes droop closed as I found myself getting lost into the kiss.

Before I found myself melting away, I was pulled back and landed against Terra-Xehanort's chest.

"Now, who's the better kisser?" Terra-Xehanort asked as he looked down at my face as I noticed both men were drunk off of lust and mead.

I glanced between the two men before grinning, "I need a better sample than that to decide."

* * *

Rauxdi was sitting on the edge of the lake as she glanced over the moonlit surface. She flinched as she heard a familiar _ping_ go off.

"Hey Marluxia, come get your phone," She said as she glanced to the Nobody behind her. He was admiring the Kingdom of Corona before he walked over raising an eyebrow.

"Who is texting in the group this late?" He mumbled as he grabbed his phone from Rauxdi. She just shrugged as he opened his phone up.

He let out a massive snort as Rauxdi looked up at him surprised, "What's up?"

"You got to see this," The Assassin chuckled as he sat down next to her so she could see the screen.

**Audri**: Threesome anyone?

**Audri**: -attachment sent-

Rauxdi's eyes sparked with fury as she saw that Audri was sandwiched between Ansem and Terra-Xehanort as they all held their drafts of alcohol up for the selfie.

"What is she even doing..." Rauxdi grumbled under her breathe as Marluxia sighed replying to the chat.

**Marluxia**: You know that it's super late right?

**Audri**: I know it is, but these are photos from earlier. I just felt like sharing before I got busy.

**Larxene**: Are you going to get DPed by the big leagues? Lucky bitch!

**Demyx**: TMI Audri o_o''

**Audri**: -attachment sent-

The photo popped up with Audri straddling Terra-Xehanort with Ansem making an annoyed face in the background like he wanted in on the action.

"This is making me feel sick," Rauxdi said standing up to walk towards the water as Marluxia looked at the Nobody with concern.

**Audri**: They might have been a little handsy while they were drunk. But at least my plan worked oWo

**Demyx**: To make them fuck you when they're drunk?

**Larxene**: To make them fuck each other?

**Audri**: It's a long story. Anyways, don't swing by the house. Hyde is on guard duty to make sure no one comes in or out of the house.

**Marluxia**: What do you mean?

**Audri**: Can't talk, gotta go ;P

**Audri**: -attachment sent-

"Rauxdi, what is this?" Rauxdi heard Marluxia ask as he walked over to her in a hurried way. She glanced back to see that he held his phone out to her.

She grasped his phone and looked at the photo. She just let out a hearty laugh as she handed the phone back to Marluxia, "I don't know. But whatever it is, I guess she's causing trouble."

Rauxdi turned around to look back at the lake as Marluxia looked at the photo again. In the photo, Audri took a selfie over drunk Ansem and Terra-Xehanort as they lied on her bed passed out.

In the corner of the photo, there was a flash of what looked like a phantom chain coming from Audri's chest.


	14. Friends and Enemies

"Terra! Are you here?" I called out as I walked around the Land of Departure.

Or at least the version that Terra has reflected in his heart.

If I had to be honest, the last few months have been a little too hectic since Master Xehanort showed up at my doorstep with Organization XIII in tow. I can barely tell if this is reality or a dream anymore.

I heard something in the distance that sounded like metal clashing. I dashed over to the cliffside before I saw a familiar armored figure striking metal gong-like structures hanging from an enormous stand.

I waved trying to get his attention, but I don't think he could hear me. I sighed as I summoned my broom as I jumped on and flew down to the training grounds.

I landed on my feet once the broom disappeared into the night. I walked over slowly before waving my arms hoping to catch his eye.

"Hey, Terr- WOAH!" I shouted as he swung his keyblade with force, almost knocking me out but I luckily dodged out of the way and fell back on my ass.

I slowly sat back up as I looked up to see a flash of light. "Audri?" Terra looked down at me in surprise as he brought his hand up to his neck. He was still in that massive keyblade knight armor but at least he took his helmet off.

"You missed. You're supposed to kill creatures of darkness," I chuckled before he held his hand out to me to help me up.

"You know I don't believe that you're evil like you say," Terra said with a frown on his face as I dusted myself off. "How am I going to prove it to you?" I asked as his keyblade dissipated.

"Maybe you have to attack me with all that you got," Terra said with a smirk as I stood there scowling.

"You know that would be absolutely fucked up if I fought and killed your soul," I said making air quotes with my hands as he laughed.

"I'm kidding, but I saw you... Well, get me really drunk. What did I drink anyways," Terra asked as I twiddled my fingers nervously, "100% proof whiskey with lemon mead."

He stood there quiet for a second before wrapping an arm around my neck and giving me a noogie, "I would think you're trying to kill me if that's the case."

I squealed and squirmed trying to get away from his grip as I started grabbing at his biceps, "T-terra! Cut it out, I wanted to ask you something!"

Terra smiled softly as he let me go. I stumbled forward realizing I didn't have to escape frantically since he let me go.

I glanced over at him after I regained my composure to see that he walked over to the middle of the cliff to lay back on the grass, legs and arms stretched like he hasn't moved in years.

"So what brought today's visit on?" Terra asked glancing back at me as I slowly made my way over to where he was resting.

"I've been gathering information that you might want to know about the current situation," I said scratching my cheek as I lied back next to him to look at the endless night sky above us.

"Hm, I can't do much but it's good to keep tabs if you want," Terra said reassuring me that it wasn't a waste of my time to do this for his trapped soul.

"Master Xehanort is trying to set up a backup plan by keeping an eye out on the new Princesses of Heart. I guess if something happens where the others don't find their guardians of light, they'll be sacrificial sheep," I said running my fingers through my hair as I could feel him shifting behind me.

"That's absolutely horrible!" Terra said as I glanced over to see the look of anger and worry flicker beneath his deep blue eyes.

"Well, that depends on the second part of news relates to the guardians. I talked to a former friend who's helping them out. They mentioned about trying to find three keyblade guardians that disappeared the last time that Xehanort tried to summon Kingdom Hearts," I said as I closed my eyes for a quick second remembering my visit to see Lea and Kairi.

I could hear Terra draw in a sharp breath before I opened one eye to glance up at him, "Was one of them you?"

He nodded slowly as he leaned back down, his hands brought up to rest on his chest, "Yes. I think... It sounds like they're looking for me and my friends, Aqua and Ven."

"Aqua and Ven?"

"They were two keyblade wielders that were training with me. We all lived in the castle atop this hill that you've seen," Terra explained as he briefly gestured his head up the towering mountainside, "They were my best friends, and we were inseparable. That is until Aqua and I were to go find Master Xehanort."

"What do you mean go find him," I asked slowly rolling onto my left side while propping my head up with my arm.

"Back then, our Master, Master Eraqus, told us about a threat that was trying to destroy the balance of the worlds. It fed off of Negative energy and formed monsters called the Unversed. Master Xehanort disappeared without a trace and we were worried that he would not be able to handle it on his own," Terra said as he glanced down at my small form lying next to him on the grass.

Something in his eyes got dark as he ran his fingers through his hair, "Later, we found out that Master Xehanort had... created an individual made of pure darkness out of Ven before he trained with us. His name was Vanitas and he was the source of all these creatures."

_Vanitas? That can't be... It has to be the same guy Xehanort sicked on me when I ran away the first time_, I thought to myself as I listened quietly.

"In the end... We lost everything. Master Xehanort struck down Master Eraqus, destroyed our homeworld and forced us all together to fight. It was a trap to get ahold of me and..."

Terra placed a hand on his chest as I spoke up quietly, "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Making you talk about the past," I said quickly as I sat up, feeling my skin prickle all over from the guilt.

Terra slowly sat up and shook his head throwing a warm smile in my direction, "Don't be sorry. The past is in the past for a reason. Plus all those memories is what is keeping me going."

Terra moved his hand to his pocket and I saw something glimmer out of the corner of my eye. I glanced over and saw that he was holding this yellow-orange star-shaped trinket in between his fingers as he held it up against the sky.

"Aqua made this. She made one for all three of us. It's a good luck charm based on a fruit that binds people together no matter where they are," Terra said with a twinkle of comfort on his face. I raised my eyebrow before scooting over to his side to get a better look at it.

"Do you mind if I hold it?" I asked in almost a whisper that Terra was caught off guard. He nodded as he carefully placed the charm into my hands.

I carefully flipped it around, observing it seeing that it was made of colored stained glass, brown cord, and had a metal emblem in the middle. As I brushed my fingers along the token in the middle, I closed my eyes just enjoying the cool sensation and textures in my hand.

Something about the charm lifted my spirits like I was not afraid of what was to come next at all. I clutched it between my hands as it washed a feeling of familiarity over me.

I opened my eyes and looked at him smiling, "Do you mind if I try something out?"

He raised an eyebrow as I slowly fumbled around in the pockets before I gasped, pulling out the Rauxdi's charm that Xigbar gave me. I smiled running my fingers over the purple glass as I handed him mine.

"What are you doing?" He asked as I smiled, "Do you trust me?"

"The last time I trusted someone, I got my body stolen from me," Terra said with a cocky smirk as I laughed, "Oh good, you have a terrible sense of humor like me. Don't worry, this isn't as intrusive."

He nodded as he placed his hand over my charm and his own that was in my other hand.

"Close your eyes and try to focus on the sounds around us. Try to see if you can hear a heartbeat," I said as my hands started to glow white around the charms. He hesitated for a second before closing his eyes.

I smiled as I closed mine, feeling the energy surrounding us in the air. I felt myself draw in a sharp breath before I found myself in the darkness before seeing the purple and orange light wrapped around both of our arms, intermingling between the two of us.

I stayed quiet for a few more minutes as I listened to Terra's breathing until I could feel a small pulse in my hands. I smiled as I hard Terra gasp. I closed my eyes to see him looking up at with bewildered.

"What was that? Was that my..." Terra asked removing his right hand from my charm to place over his chest.

"I placed a spell on both of our charms so we can try to use them to communicate. I... picked up a spell from a book from a scary old man," I explained as I pressed his charm into his hand as I held mine over my heart.

"That's... Amazing, how does it work?" Terra asked as the look on his face made me take pride in my spell.

"Well, it's a connection through our hearts. As long as we have a physical bond like our charms on hand, they'll always be there in your heart," I said placing mine around my neck as Terra smirked.

"What's up?" I asked curiously as he tapped a finger on the charm around my neck, "Are you sure that you're evil? You sound like someone who believes friendship can conquer all at this point."

I snorted as I grabbed his hand and stuck my tongue out, "I rather call myself a romantic gal with a poetic nature, thank you very much."

Terra closed his hand so that our fingers were somewhat interlaced as he spoke softly, "Still, you didn't have to do any of this. I... actually am happy that you came back. It sort of takes away the hollowness inside of my... well, my heart being able to talk to someone."

"You hardly know me Terra," I said as he lowered our hands to the empty space between us, "And yet, you're keeping a promise for someone you hardly know."

I was about to protest but he wasn't wrong.

Why was I doing this? He is one of the guys fighting against the darkness, yet something kept drawing me to his light.

"Fair enough. But... let's call this a courtesy!" I said pulling my hands from his grasp quickly as he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Really? Even though you could just walk away and have Master Xehanort take control of Kingdom Hearts?"

My brain stopped for a second before I looked out at the stars above us.

"I don't want to sound cheesy Terra, but something about you..." I started to say as I glanced at the shooting star that streaked across the sky.

I turned to face him with a large smile on my face, "It makes me want to risk the life I'm living and go off the path."

"Should I take that as a compliment then? Making the creature of darkness coming towards the light?" Terra said with a cocky smile on his face.

I could tell that even for a light-hearted joke, it meant something to me.

"If you want to," I said feeling my heart flicker in my chest as I tucked my a whisp of hair behind my ear.

* * *

I could feel weight on my chest as I woke up hours later. I glanced to see that Ansem was leaning his head on my breasts while Terra-Xehanort had his arms wrapped around my back.

I might have been enjoying the fact that I had gotten back from talking to Terra to cozy up with two men in bed, but because they were drunk as fuck the night before, it's not like they were coordinated for any action.

_I wonder if I should have mentioned Yen Sid's conversation that I eavesdropped on involving Aqua. Then again, I don't want to give him false hope when I could barely hear it_, I thought to myself as I slowly found the energy to get up.

I slowly pushed Ansem off of my chest before unhooking Terra-Xehanort's grasp away from my small frame. I shifted, slipping from the bed to see the two men sleeping peacefully as they could on my bed. I turned to my closet and started getting dressed for the day.

I slipped from the clothes I slept it and put on a white zip-up crop hoodie, black leggings, and some sneakers. I walked over to the bathroom to see what the damage was to do my hair.

As I glanced up at the mirror above the vanity, I glanced to see my eyes flickered from a bright yellow to a deep orange-gold hue. I sighed as I started to brush out my hair before putting it into a very loose braid.

"I really should dye my hair, I don't know anyone my age with white hair," I mumbled to myself before exiting the bathroom.

I took a quick peek back in my room to see the men were undisturbed. I thought it would be a good idea to get them some breakfast from town to help with their hangovers if they wake up with one that is.

I could feel myself licking my lips at the anticipation of breaking open a hot croissant this early in the morning.

I quickly grab my house keys before whisking myself out the door. I looked up at the sky to see that the sun was slowly rising over the sky, meaning that it's still early enough to beat the crowds at the bakery. Instead of flying over, I decided a light jog would be nice. Just to get the blood flowing first thing.

As I took my stroll towards downtown, I could feel the hairs on my neck starting to prickle. I pulled my hood down as I glanced around to see no one else in sight. I came to a full stop before shoving my pockets into my hands.

The eerie sensation wasn't lifting up, so I found myself barking out in nervousness, "Whoever you are, don't make me come find you and kick your ass!"

"Now now, is that any way you should be talking to someone who ranks higher than you?" I heard a male's voice whisper into my ear making me spin my head around, swinging my arm out to strike them in the face.

My wrist was caught as I looked to see I was eye to eye with a kid with spiky raven hair and hypnotizing golden eyes.

"Not quick enough," He said with a smug expression resting on his face as I snapped my arm from his grasp before backing up. I could feel my heart going a hundred beats per minute from surprise as I looked at the kid in front of me.

He was dressed in a black windbreaker with red lining stitched for the sleeves, stripes along the sleeves, and cuffs. He also wore black skinny jeans with red and black high top sneakers. What was still throwing me off was the grin getting bigger on his face from the situation and I wanted to slap the smirk off his face.

"Can I help you?" I said trying to not hiss as he smirked running a hand through his spiky hair, "I was just curious on what everyone sees in you. You don't seem special or anything to help the old man with his goals."

_Old man?_ I thought to myself as I spoke up, "Wait, are you talking about Master Xehanort?"

He snorted before shoving his hands into his pockets, "Man you're slow. Of course I'm talking about him. I'm another one of his vessels." He walked closer to me before I noticed that he was taller than me by at least a good eight inches.

"Name's Vanitas sweetheart," He said as I felt my body tense up from having him stand so close to me.

"Audri," I said coldly before he chuckled, "Already know who you are. You're the Heartless that everyone can't seem to take their hands off of. Or at least _some_ people in specific."

"What do you want?" I asked trying to put up a front as I pushed past him to keep walking towards my destination.

I could hear his footsteps behind me as I heard him speak up, "I'm just here to do my own observations. I finished my recon so I have time to kill for a few days."

"Uh huh, are you going to pay for my breakfast or just stalk me?" I asked glaring back at him as we approached the bakery's doors.

"Depends, offering me something?" Vanitas said with a tone of toxicity in his voice as I tried to ignore him.

I asked the baker for a box of croissants, filled with various fruit fillings and cream. Vanitas cut me off for an Irish Coffee, which surprised me and the baker, but the baker seemed to comply as I think he was afraid that Vanitas was going to wreak his store.

What surprised me more was that the baker _had_ a stash of whiskey on him. I paid for the food and his drink before we took our leave.

"Thanks for the 'coffee' Audri," Vanitas said gesturing to me with his free hand as I raised an eyebrow at him, "Aren't you a little too young to drink?"

He glared at me before shaking his head, "I do what I want." I just rolled my eyes at his comment as we walked back to my place in silence.

Well, almost complete silence. I could feel Vanitas watching me from behind like he was trying to observe every inch of my body. It would have creeped me out if he was making crude comments out loud, but I just heard a lot of mumbling under his breath.

I balance the box of food with one hand as I fiddled my keys with the lock on the door. "You are absolutely useless aren't you," Vanitas said as he stepped from behind, grabbing the box swiftly from my shaking hand. I just took the insult as an outing as I quickly opened the door and quickly walked in.

He followed me into the shop with the pastries and his coffee still in hand as I started to adjust the plants in the front of the shop and seeing my Possessor Heartless coming from the shadows, curious on what I was doing, and inspecting the new visitor.

"You can take those to the kitchen down the hallway. You can also wake the guys in my room to let them know their hangover cure is here," I said not turning my attention to Vanitas as I slapped flies out of the air around one of the dying plants.

I didn't hear a response but I could hear him walking down the hallway and some inaudible noise.

I turned my attention to the rest of my shop starting to prep knowing that I have to get open for the day. As I turned my attention back to the dead plant on the shelf, I started to reach on my tippy toes, trying to reach it.

I cursed myself realizing that I had asked Terra-Xehanort to place it on the shelf but forgetting that I am a lot shorter than the men in the Organization.

"Want a hand?" I heard Vanitas' voice from behind me before I felt my back flush with his chest as he grabbed the plant from the shelf. I froze up, feeling every part of his chest flex and shift as he firmly pressed himself against me.

_Oh no, goddammit! Why are all these guys so damn fit_, I thought to myself as I quickly put a hand to my mouth to bite on the tips of my thumb to bring a different sensation to my mind.

After another second, I felt Vanitas back up as I turned to him to see him holding the dead potted plant in his hands.

"Want me to chuck this out?" He asked as I grabbed the pot from his grasp, "I can find some use for the plant. Just pick all the good parts out and make it into an herbal pouch for future usage," I quickly explained as I tried to step around me.

"The good parts huh? I think I see what you mean," Vanitas said as he quickly swiped the plant back from my grasp, raising my eyebrows in surprise as he placed it on the table right next to me.

"Hey! Vanitas why did you-" I was cut off as Vanitas pushed me against the wall as his hands were on both sides of my head as his towering frame locked me in.

The look in his golden eyes looked like a spark of curiosity as he brought his hand up, firmly grabbing my chin and tilting my face to the side as if he was trying to find creases on my face. I just held my breath as he did this, feeling him forcefully tilt my head back to face him.

I suddenly realized that he took a few steps closer, barely inches of room between our chests as he leaned his head down.

"You're just so negative," He said almost in a quiet mumble as I could feel his lips on mine with slight aggression.


	15. Cornered Vipers

I just watched the sunset over Twilight Town as I sat on the edge of the clock tower. I just push my knees to my chest as my chin rested on top of them.

I held my phone out in front of me as I kept scrolling through my contacts.

I can see tons of messages from the group chat, probably just more gossip, but I just swiped those notifications away.

I felt my finger stop as I saw Ienzo's name pop up on my contact list.

I bit my bottom lip for a second before I tapped on his name, making the screen go black as it started to ring.

A few moments passed before I saw Ienzo's sleepy face on the screen as he was lying in what looked like a cot.

"Audri? Do you have any idea what time it is?" He yawned as I laughed, "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Not exactly, you just woke me up before my alarm went off. Give me a second," He grumbled as he placed the phone down so I could see was a black screen.

I heard his voice through the speaker like it was muffled, "What do you need?"

"Do you... Do you know anything about creatures called the Unversed?" I asked as the screen suddenly changed to Ienzo sitting up with a plain t-shirt on.

"The Unversed? Hm... Not that I can recall, what is it if I ask," Ienzo replied as I dragged my fingers along the side of my leggings.

"They're creatures made of negative thought. Someone in this new Organization XIII is like... the source of all of the Unversed and I wanted to know in how they worked," I tried to explain as I could feel my brain started to tread dangerously close to slipping back into a lustful state after the incident I had with Vanitas.

"It doesn't ring any bells, sorry Audri. I can try to dig through our archives to see if we have anything. But do you need this information right now?" Ienzo said looking at me with a worried face through his Gummiphone.

I shook my head as I smiled, "Not at all. I actually was just curious since they mentioned something that struck a chord with me, but I don't know why it rang familiar."

I could see the look on his face become puzzled as I waved at the camera, "Don't worry about it. I can handle it from here. Thanks Ienzo."

"Of course. I should get ready for another day of data mining through the documents on Sora's heart," Ienzo said with a deep sigh as I laughed nervously, "If you really need it, I could just bring Sora in for testing."

"As much as I would be grateful, I think you'll become target practice in minutes," Ienzo said as I nodded, realizing that he didn't want me to go through the trouble to put myself at risk.

"Alright, talk soon!" I said with a thumbs up before the call hung up. I just slide my phone on the ground next to me before I leaned back to feel my legs dangle off the side of the building as I looked into the Clock Tower's innards.

I closed my eyes before bringing my fingers up to brush against my lips.

_I felt myself pinned to the wall as Vanitas ran his hands along my hips as I could feel myself being washed over with waves of emotions._

_It felt like chaos, erratic nature as my heart pounded loudly in my chest. I gasped for air as he pulled back for a second before a hand went to my throat, holding me but not squeezing._

_"You are so... delicious," He growled before he leaned in to start biting and sucking on my collarbone. I held back a stifled moan, quickly running my hands through his hair before I felt him break away from my skin._

_"W-wait, Vanitas we can't do this right now when..." I started to whisper in a panic as his hands ran under my hoodie scratching at my flesh._

_"Don't worry about those two idiots. I didn't bother waking them up, so as long as you stay quiet..." Vanitas murmured as a wicked grin flashed across his face, "Then I can make you feel amazing."_

_Before I could utter another word, I drew in a sharp gasp as he shoved my hoodie up, revealing my supple breasts and leaned down to lap his tongue at the perky buds._

_"Fuck... Vanitas, stop..." I started to plead before he stood back up and smirked as he grabbed my wrists and pinning them on both sides of my head._

_"I like to tease," He said with a smirk as he leaned down with another fierce kiss, biting my bottom lip firmly to shove his tongue into my mouth._

_I winced trying to hold back a moan before I felt something in the pit of my stomach starting to cease._

_I fluttered my eyes closed as it felt that all the fear, anxiety, and embarrassment, was starting to fade the more Vanitas was using me. I felt the weight lifted off of my body that I could feel myself slump against the wall and under his weight. I felt light, calm, and free._

_I felt Vanitas pull back from the kiss before he cupped my face. I looked up at him with a dazed look on my face as he smiled, "Such a good girl. I promise to make all the bad things go away."_

I just closed my eyes tightly before bringing my fists to my forehead. I just kept thinking about it over and over again, realizing that for the rest of the day, I felt like I was in the best fucking mood ever and nothing was going to stop me.

Even to the point that it felt like I was insane for not being miserable or anxious for like a few minutes.

_What in the fuck did he do?_ I thought to myself as I heard a ping from my phone. I glanced over at it and raised a brow in surprise seeing it was a message from Rauxdi.

**Rauxdi**: We need to talk.

**Audri**: Why the urgency?

**Rauxdi**: Catch up and see how you're doing. You know, make sure you're not fucking up.

**Audri**: Gee thanks. Where though?

**Rauxdi**: There's a cafe in Radiant Gardens that sells ice cream. Meet me there.

**Audri**: Sure thing.

I slid my phone into my pocket before I slowly sat myself up to stretch my back out.

"Fuck, I wish that he just nailed me on the counter. That would have done my body some justice," I grumbled with a grin sliding onto my face as I summoned a dark corridor.

* * *

As I walked slowly through Radiant Gardens, I pulled my hood over my head. Something about the vibe in town was making me feel off, and it made me want to crawl into a hole somewhere and hide.

I glanced up as I saw a redhead with a similar red crop top and white skinny jeans walking over to me.

"Hey Rauxdi, what gives?" I said with a grin as I held a hand out to grab her hand. She snorted and slapped my hand before pulling me into a tight hug.

I just stood there with my arms to my side as I raised my eyebrow, "This is new."

"Tell me about it, I already got the ice cream," She said with a flashy grin as she held out two ice cream bars out of thin air.

"You... Didn't steal it, did you?" I asked hesitantly as she scowled shoving the dessert into my hand, "I did not. So what's been going with you?"

"Oh, the same old thing. Keeping up with the group chat while everyone is out on recon missions, avoiding Luxord in case I try to jump on his dick in desperation to bring his memory back. The sort of thing," I said as I licked the ice cream with a shudder of confusion running down my taste buds.

She saw the look on my face and sheepishly grinned, "Sorry, they only had sea salt in stock right now."

"What a bittersweet memory," I said with a sigh escaping my lips as I glanced up at the castle looming over the town.

"What about yourself Rauxdi, you still banging Xigbar?" I sneered as her face turned beet red. "M-maybe! I might also be fucking other people too, you know!" She snapped as she nibbled on her ice cream trying to cool off.

"Relax, I don't mind what secret lovers you have in your bed," I said trying to get myself to eat through the ice cream.

"You mean like how everyone talks about yours?" Rauxdi raised an eyebrow as I glanced over at her.

"I... Want me to tell you a secret?" I whispered, getting the red head's attention as she leaned in. I grabbed her hoodie and pulling it tight over her head, "It's not their damn business!"

An inaudible screech came from Rauxdi as I cackled watching her try to pull herself together. She pulled her hood back up glaring dagger at me, "Asshole."

"Bitch," I said flipping her off with a grin on my face as she shook her head getting over the minor prank.

"So... What did you really call me here for?" I asked as I stood a few steps away from Rauxdi facing away from her. I could feel a frown digging its way to the surface of my face as I heard her hesitate.

"What do you mean?" She asked as I turned around with my eyes glazed over in slight annoyance as I shoved my hands into my pockets, "It's about me avoiding all those calls from Master Xehanort isn't it? Mostly after he found out Sora talked to me."

Rauxdi's face said it all as her lighthearted expression turned to one of a more somber attitude.

"I'm worried Audri. I don't know what you're doing but it's making him have second thoughts on letting you wander around freely," Rauxdi said as she walked over in her high heels clicking across the pavement.

"Is that why Ansem and... Xehanort have been making themselves comfortable around my house?" I hissed as she grabbed my shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.

"I heard from Xigbar that Ansem is there for that reason. But as for Xehanort... I haven't heard anything on why _he _is lingering around," She said as I could see this flicker of pain well up behind her eyes as she spoke about Terra-Xehanort.

I grabbed her hands and squeezed them firmly, "Rauxdi... I know you're watching out for me, but I got this. I can handle those two by myself." I wanted to pull away from her but she held onto me tightly.

"You dumbass! You think you're tough shit, don't you?! You get to just waltz in and out of Organization XIII because you're some... special pet project," Rauxdi snarled as I raised my eyebrows in alarm.

"Excuse me, but where is this coming from?" I asked pulling from Rauxdi's grasps as she balled her hands at her side.

Her gaze dropped to the ground in front of us as I could see her shoulders trembling, "You... You're just stupid. You're not invincible, no one is. Master Xehanort is just using you to get what he-"

A sharp noise strung through the air as I slapped a hand across her face. I could see the flaming red handprint on her cheek as she slowly brought her hand to her face.

She looked at me in surprise as I glared her down with a cold glare, "I didn't come all this way to be insulted by you Rauxdi. I... I want to trust you with some information on what I'm doing, but I know that I can't. Not while you're this babbling mess of a person."

I turned around as I snapped my fingers making a dark corridor, "Get your fucking head on straight before you try to talk down to me." I could see Rauxdi's pained expression on her face as I walked through the corridor.

After the dark corridor closed, Rauxdi felt her knees buckle as she collapsed in the middle of the town square. She felt herself slam her hands on the cement as she cried out in frustration.

"You know what will happen next, won't you my dear?" She heard a voice from behind her as her blurry gaze looked at the ground in front of her. She ground her teeth as she felt the person walk in front of her and kneeled down to her level.

She felt a gloved finger forced her chin up as she looked up at a pair of golden eyes. "You can't rush perfection my dear Rauxdi," Young Xehanort said with a smirk as the redhead looked up at him in desperation.

"What is the purpose of telling her to be on her guard? Do you really think she would believe you?" He asked as she winced as his words felt like daggers digging into her brain.

"You bastards... After all you're putting me through... What do you want from her," Rauxdi barked out before Young Xehanort moved his hand to wrapped around her neck forcibly as he glared at her.

"We're just making sure Audri stays under our thumb for the time being. As for you though..."

Rauxdi drew in a sharp gasp as she felt something burning hot piercing her neck as he pulled her to his feet, "We have some business to follow up on, don't we Rauxdi?"

She felt the hot tears running down her face as Young Xehanort dragged her through a dark corridor.

* * *

I just stomped through the castle ruins as I made my way to a castle terminal.

_Fucking Rauxdi, trying to be like she's the damn boss over me. I can't believe she thinks she can just try to scare me out of trying to... to... _I started feeling my brain going on overdrive as I could feel the dark energy pouring out of me.

I just pulled my hood down before I started kicking rocks and pipes along the walls.

"Fuck everything!" I snapped as I felt my shoe come loose and flying to the other end of the corridor, hitting the wall.

I just closed my eyes trying to keep myself down before I stopped down the hallway. As I started to reach for my shoe, I saw a sudden white sleeve come out from behind the corner.

"Audri?" I saw Ienzo looking up at me surprised as he was dressed in his lab coat like usual.

"Surprise?" I said with a sarcastic tone in my voice as I swiped my shoe off the floor. "I would ask why you are here, but I rather point out that I don't want you destroying my equipment," He said with a nervous look on his face as I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Sorry! I just... I had a shitty one-sided fight with Rauxdi," I grumbled as I slipped my shoe back on.

"What happened?" He asked with slight concern in his voice as I finished tying my shoe.

"Mind if we walk and talk?" I asked as I slowly got up on my feet. "By all means, just stop kicking things. I could hear the ruckus all the way from the lab," Ienzo said as I blushed in embarrassment not realizing I was being an asshole in his now.

As we made our way to the master terminal, I explained everything that was going on between Rauxdi and I. The day they showed up at my door asking for my help, the day we went to Castle of Dreams and Rauxdi got scarred for life, up to the current fight we had out in the city square.

I could feel Ienzo's energy was a little erratic as I spoke, mostly because I think he was reflecting the energy I was giving off.

"...and that brings us to now," I said as our footsteps echoed through the vast metal room. "Huh, who would have thought you were a Heartless. It's interesting but absolutely terrifying," Ienzo said as he keyed his password in the terminal to bring up his files.

"I thought you were close with Vexen? He told me that's why he did so much testing on me after he found out what I was," I said grabbing a stool with wheels to lean against the computer.

Now that I think about, they decorated this place with tons of bookcases, a desk, and a small single cot propped up against the wall.

"We... were close comrades, but he must have had his reasons to not spread the information to alert everyone," Ienzo said as he glanced back at me with a sincere smile, "But I think that Rauxdi did nothing wrong. She was just looking out for you."

"But why does it feel like she's trying to shove me away from everything? It's like... she didn't consider that being with Organization XIII is comforting to me," I said interlacing the fingers across my lap as he put a hand to his chin.

"Well, from what you told me, it sounds like something or someone is keeping a very short leash on her. Maybe it's the only way that she can fight back without raising suspicion. You haven't noticed anything odd about her lately have you?" Ienzo asked as I snapped my leggings against my thighs trying to keep my hands busy.

"Odd huh..." I mumbled to myself as I tried to remember all of the times that I saw Rauxdi ever since Castle of Dreams. She was... erratic, terrified, this pained expression mixed with fear and frustration on her face.

_Maybe Ienzo is on to something about this_, I thought to myself as I nodded. Ienzo shakes his head as a frown found a place on his face, "Maybe you should ask her the next time when you see her. It seems like whatever it is, it sounds like you're connected to the problem."

"You had me, and then you lost me," I said as he sighed, "Nevermind, but check this out." I raised my eyebrow as I rolled the stool across the floor to find myself at the terminal next to Ienzo. I glanced at the terminal screen before I widened my eyes in surprise.

"You found information on the Unversed?" I asked baffled as I glanced up at his beaming face.

"I was going to call you soon as possible, but you were knocking stuff around in the hallway," He said as I laughed nervously before looking at the screen. "So where's the information from?"

"About a decade ago, our master Ansem the Wise noticed these creatures started popping up in Radiant Gardens. He sent Dilan, Braig, and Aeleus to take them out and protect the citizens. They captured a few and we experimented on them. We also took into note their behavior when they were wreaking havoc around town," He said as he tapped a few keys to bring up some scanned reports that were barely legible to me.

"What I could read is that they were attracted and attacking people that looked like they had no negative energy. Reports of the people just minding their business before they attacked them," Ienzo said as I stood up to tap my fingers against the picture of the Flood Unversed on the monitor.

"Does it mean that they are on the same level as a Heartless where they attack with free will or are they controlled by a higher figure like a Nobody?" I asked trying to skim over the files while I had them at my disposal as Ienzo shrugged.

"There wasn't any information regarding anything like that, but I assume if there is someone who... creates the Unversed, that it's more like a Heartless where they come into the world to wreak havoc until they find a suitable source."

"A source of what though?"

"Pure negativity," Ienzo replied as I brought my hand to my lips, brushing the bottom lip lightly.

_If that's correct, then... Vanitas is trying to use my negative emotions to power himself up. I should be more agitated about this but..._ My thoughts were cut short as Ienzo logged out as the files disappeared from my view.

I adjusted myself accordingly as I smile placing a hand on his shoulder, "Thanks for the help Ienzo. I am surprised you found anything at all."

"Well it's better to do something other than try to find body parts. If you drop by again, please don't take the whole building down with you," He said with a sly smile on his face as I laughed, "No promises. Mind leading me out?"

* * *

I slowly walked down the front steps of the Castle doors where Dilan and Aeleus usually standing guard. At this time, they were taking breaks to make sure they were set for the next 12 hours. As I reached the last step, I heard a voice speak up.

"Visiting the failed vessels I see," Vanitas said as he was leaned against the brick wall connected to the steel fencing.

I gritted my teeth as I walked towards him, "Lay off of them. They are _still_ my friends."

He smirked as he pushed his hand away and looked down at me with a cocky smile, "Why the temper? I thought that you would have been having a fantastic day so far. Mostly after what I did to you."

"Why are you really here Vanitas?" I said crossing my arms over my chest as he leaned forward from the wall to tower over me.

"I just wanted to check up on you. See how you're feeling since you're kind of new to this whole 'feel good' thing. Doesn't it feel amazing to not have any negative feelings?" He said sticking his tongue out as I took a step back hesitating.

He took two steps forward, breaking the personal bubble I had by sliding his arm around my shoulders and pulling me in to bite my ear lobe.

I let out a whimper, slapping my hands over my mouth as he whispered into my ear, "If you stick with me Audri, I can make sure that every day is just fucking bubbles and rainbows for you. I know you can't handle any more stress and frustrations in your life. So why not live in pure ecstasy?"

I closed my eyes tightly as I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

_What does this jerkoff really want_, I thought to myself as I slowly pulled my hands away from my face. Vanitas looked at me in surprise as I grabbed the front of his jacket.

"I'm curious to hear what you have to say. Why not drop me off at home and we can talk sometime soon?" I asked, feeling the tension building back up looking up at his golden eyes. A smirk slipped onto his lips as Vanitas snapped his fingers.

"Whatever you say, princess," He said as a dark corridor uncovered itself around the both of us.


	16. Broken

"I am curious. What you are trying to do, Number 00?" Young Xehanort said coldly as Rauxdi lied on the ground crumpled at his feet. Rauxdi held the side of her neck as she coughed up some blood. She glanced up at the Superior in front of her as she snarled, "What did it look like to you?"

"If I didn't know any better... It looks like you're trying to kill yourself with the keyblade," Young Xehanort replied as he stepped forward and landed a powerful kick into her shoulder, flinging her back on the ground.

Cursing in pain as she hit the marble floor, she looked up at him smirking, "Can't help a girl from trying." A corridor opened up as Rauxdi felt the air suddenly change as her blood started to freeze up.

"Oh you already started without me?" Terra-Xehanort asked with a smug expression on his face as he looked upon Rauxdi's body on the floor.

Rauxdi felt her breath being caught in her throat as she saw the malice in both men's amber eyes as they gazed on her like predators ready to tear into her flesh.

"Let's just say I wanted to give her a little reminder," Young Xehanort said as Rauxdi laughed.

"When will you guys ever shut the fuck u-"

She was cut off as Young Xehanort charged forward and pinned her to the ground with his keyblade digging into her shoulder.

"If you don't meddle, our plan would have been finished by now," He snarled as Rauxdi felt tears bursting from her eyes in shock and pain before Terra-Xehanort placed his hand on Young Xehanort's shoulder.

"Easy you two. We have so much work to do. Shall we show you the ropes again Rauxdi?"

Rauxdi snarled as she tried to shove Young Xehanort off of her but found Terra-Xehanort's keyblade tapping against her inner thigh.

"Fuck off, you bastards."

"That's the spirit," Terra-Xehanort said with a smirk as Young Xehanort started to tear her clothes to shreds with his next assault.

* * *

"So, drinks on me I assume?" Vanitas said with a grin on his face as I flagged down a bartender, "Thank you for offering!"

I found that Vanitas took us to a new world that one of the other vessels was reconning at. It was very modern, very sleek in design, and they had lots of bars in the shady parts of this new world called San Fransokyo.

I glanced outside the entrance to see that it was pouring heavy rain outside. I could feel something cold brush up against my fingertips, making me turn around to see Vanitas sliding me the glass of whiskey I requested. I thanked him quickly as I pulled the glass to my lips.

The burn was a sensation I enjoyed, and with the fact that I was suddenly having seconds thoughts about Vanitas wasn't helping either.

He cleared his throat for a second before he spoke leaning on the bar, "I can't believe you think I'm going to be a gentleman about this entire situation."

I placed my glass back down before I turned to lean closer to his face, "I just wanna chit chat for a second so we're on the same page with this is all. Is that so hard to ask?"

"If it makes you feel better, I could say that we're on a porn set right now and we can bang on this countertop," Vanitas said as I snorted, a little disbelief that he made such a crude joke. "Fucking hell, at least surprise me a little better!"

"Say that again Audri, and it'll be the last words leaving your mouth that form a proper sentence," He said with a smirk as he pulled my barstool towards him. I smirked as I grabbed my glass sipping my drink, "So tempting! But seriously, let's make a deal."

"What do you want out of this then?"

I placed my glass next to his hand on the counter as I smirked, batting my eyelashes up at him.

"Just let me do my thing, and you can do your thing whenever you want," I explained as I trailed my fingers up his chest to fiddle with the spikes protruding off his jacket.

"That's all? No other demands?" Vanitas asked as I smiled, "I will not follow you around like a dog that you can drain at any moment. I want some freedom to do as I please."

The Keyblade wielder looked down at me with raised eyebrows before he leaned in, seeing locals giving concerned glances in our direction.

He whispered, "What if I could convince you otherwise? Let's say, hypothetically, we can make this a permanent gig after Xehanort gets what he wants?" 

"Tempted but I'm listening," I said pulling my hands back so they were resting carefully on my knees. Vanitas flashed a grin as he explained, "I can feed off of your negative emotions, you get to be numb with happiness and ecstasy from all the orgasms I can give you. Everyone wins in this case!"

I looked at him bewildered before I snorted with laughter pushing him away, "So, you want me to be a sex slave who makes you hella powerful and unstoppable in fights? What a fucking terrible plot if I've heard of one!"

"I'm serious though. Why not give it some thought," Vanitas said, rolling his eyes to the side as he slowly slipped from the barstool, dusting himself off.

"We already heading off?" I asked as he shook his head glancing towards the back door.

"Just going outside for a moment to clear my head. I'll be back," He stated before he walked towards the back exit as the breeze of cold air hits him.

As the door closes behind him, I smirked as I waved the bartender for another shot.

_So, I can let someone use me so they can defeat Sora and the others I assume. What to do, what to do..._ I thought to myself frowning as I downed the shot.

_If I do this though, who knows when I'll be able to find a way to set Terra free_, I started to tap my fingers against the wooden countertop as I glanced over to the door that Vanitas slipped through.

_...Am I doing the right thing in helping Terra out?_

_Is it wrong if I don't want to help Vanitas out?_

_Maybe..._

_Maybe I should tell Vanitas that I need more time to think about this_, I suddenly stood up from the barstool. While my confidence is running high, I make my way towards the exit and slip out into the alleyway. I glanced over to see that Vanitas was staying covered by an overhead roof covering.

I stepped over quickly as possible to get out of the rain before raising my eyebrows at him.

I saw a small ember burning on the end of the cigarette he had in his mouth as he raised an eyebrow at me, surprised to see me standing out here in the gloomy weather.

"Didn't know that you smoked."

"Picked up the habit from some locals. Figured to give it a try. It helps most of the time, but you... being here... It makes my skin crawl."

I just raised an eyebrow at him with an 'excuse me?' look crossing my face. Vanitas blinked for a second before rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Not in a bad way. It's more like..." Vanitas glances around us for a second to see we were completely alone before he continued.

"I can feel all of the negative emotions of the people around me. When I'm around you, I only feel one emotion."

"And... What would that be?"

"... Gods. You are more stupid than you look," Vanitas growled as he threw his burnt cigarette into a puddle a few feet away from us as he marched over to my small frame.

He grabbed my wrist, yanking me towards him before Vanitas pinned me against the wet brick wall behind us, claiming my lips with his.

* * *

"Ah fucking hell... Xehanort.... Please stop," Rauxdi sobbed out as she felt the dark purple chains tightly wrapped around her wrists, forcing her to be on her knees as Young Xehanort unsummoned his keyblade.

Terra-Xehanort smirked, walking around Rauxdi's burnt and naked back as he took a look at his Nobody's handiwork.

Even the burnt wounds on her skin make his own flesh crawl, but the idea was to let him take out whatever problems he had with the redhead out of her.

"What beautiful scars," Terra-Xehanort smirked as he stepped closer to dig his fingers into the burnt skin on her back.

The sharp pain shot through her body like her spine was on fire as Rauxdi cursed out loud. She could barely keep herself away as she felt Terra-Xehanort's hands brush the top of her head before grabbing her hair tightly.

"If only little sluts knew how to keep their mouth shut," Terra-Xehanort growled as she closed her eyes tightly.

As Rauxdi heard the clinking of metal hit the ground and felt something horribly familiar rubbing against her cheek, she wanted to die right then and there.

She felt a gloved hand forcefully grab her jaw from behind as Young Xehanort's voice latched it open for her.

"Time for your next lesson Number 00, and _don't_ forget it this time," Young Xehanort said as Rauxdi opened her eyes in surprise as Terra-Xehanort shoved his length down her throat, making her gag for air.

* * *

As we exited the dark corridor that was made back to my little apartment, Vanitas immediately grabbed my hips and shoved his lips back onto my mouth. I whimpered and felt his tongue shoving its way forcibly into my mouth.

The taste of alcohol and cigarettes was filling my mouth with such a foul, irresistible flavor that I couldn't help drowning in it.

I felt my back come in contact with the wall as I felt Vanitas snake his hand down to grab my leg and wrap it around his waist.

Groaning in frustration as I hooked my leg around his hip barely, he pulled back from the kiss, breathing heavily as the lust was pouring out of his eyes.

"How are you feeling so far?" He asked with a smirk smile on his face as I rolled my eyes, "Still horny and frustrated. What a stupid question."

"Oh you are going to take that back," Vanitas growled as he started adjusting his arms behind his back and his jacket hit the ground with a thud.

I could feel a grin on my face as I ran my arms over his biceps, realizing that as scrawny he looks, he is fit under all those baggy clothes.

"That is not the only thing I want your hands wrapped around," He said with a smug look on his face before he planted a few kisses along my shoulder blade before he started biting and leaving a rather bruised hickey.

I started to feel flickers of pain before it was washed over with pleasure and an aching pain between my legs. "Vanitas, you're doing this on purpose," I moaned in an aggravated tone as he rested his forearm next to my head.

"Duh, it's called foreplay," The Unversed Psychopath stated, flashing a toothy grin as he adjusted himself for a second before he used both of his arms to hoist me over his shoulder and carried me further into the apartment.

I just dug my fingernails into his shoulders before I found my back pressed against the wall again as he dived back in for another fierce kiss. This time, I could feel myself being washed over and intoxicated by his musk that it was driving me over the edge.

I pulled back and whimpered, cocking Vanitas' eyebrows up before he started thrusting his growing bulge against my ass as he held me.

"You're such a dirty bitch, letting all the guys you work with just stroll into your place to fuck the hell out of you," He hissed in a mocking tone as I could feel myself raking my nails down his biceps.

"Just fuck me," I pleaded as I looked up at his hungry expression, begging for a release.

"In a minute," He grumbled as he back into the door, unlocking my bedroom door and crashing into the room, almost stumbling back until he clumsily dropped me onto my bed.

I groaned a little from the weight of his body crushing me, but I felt his hands yanking my jean shorts down, taking the panties down with them.

I tried to sit up to look up at his effort before I felt my heart hammering away in my chest to see him towering over my form as he bent over me, with his knee spreading my legs apart.

"You... talk way too much." He gasped for a second like he was catching his breath before I raised an eyebrow at him realizing he was coaxing me into talking.

I heard his hands fumbling before I heard a belt drop to the floor, "I'm making you mine." Before I had a response enter my brain, I felt myself being pulled from the bed and forced onto my knees. I looked up to see Vanitas stroking his cock in his hand as he gripped my hair in his other fist.

"Such a pretty slut. I can't wait to use you," He groaned before I felt my mouth open, drooling at the thought of his cock before I pulled it into my mouth.

I could hear Vanitas grunt as he started to slowly thrust his hips, making the throbbing cock slide between my lips as I could feel my body aching for more.

I was so intoxicated and in a trance, that I didn't hear my phone go off urgently from my shorts that were thrown into some corner of the room.

* * *

"You Bast-!" Rauxdi was muffled immediately as Young Xehanort shoved three fingers into her mouth and bite on her earlobe, "If you stopped fighting, maybe you'd actually enjoy this."

Rauxdi felt tears run down her face as she felt the older Nobody sliding his length into her asshole, completely bottoming out as Terra-Xehanort held her arms restrained behind her back with the dark-purple chains while she hovered over his lap with cum dripping between her legs.

Terra-Xehanort just smirked as he was leaned back on his elbows before he brushed his hand against her tear-stained cheeks. The gaze that Rauxdi felt piercing her made her sick.

So sick that even with Young Xehanort and him having their way with her for who knows how long now, it felt so numbing after all this time.

He ran his fingers through her hair before he made a fist and gripped her hair, arching her neck back violently. With Young Xehanort's fingers still in her mouth, Rauxdi flinched from the bizarre movement as she found herself looking up at his twisted and lustful face.

She closed her eyes tightly as the chains dug into her forearms before she heard Terra-Xehanort speak, "This is your final warning. Step another toe out of line trying to tell Audri anything... and I will be going after her next. Understood?"

Rauxdi felt herself trying to not spit up venomous words while the foul fingers of her assaulters were in her mouth. She just felt herself whimper in submission as she felt her core on fire and her back in pain from her earlier punishment.

"Good," Young Xehanort muttered satisfied as he pulled his fingers from the inside of her mouth to clamp his mouth down and assault her tongue with his bitter taste.

* * *

"I gotta go," I said as I started zipping up my leather vest while Vanitas raised an eyebrow at me as he lied in my bed, covered by the sheets.

"What's the issue? So what if Xigbar crashed the party just now. Why not just stay in bed with me," Vanitas scowled, annoyed that their session just got interrupted by the Sharpshooter literally stomping through the doorway looking for me.

I stopped for a second as I adjusted my feet in my boots as I glanced back at him in surprise, "Vanitas, didn't you hear what he said? Rauxdi hasn't been seen for days. For her to go missing after I was the last one to see her, it's kind of fucked up if I don't go!"

Vanitas rolled his eyes as I grabbed my phone and the enchanted star charm, wrapping that around my wrist. "She's probably fine, maybe just caught up in something."

"Vanitas, why..."

I stopped myself as I bit my tongue.

_Calm down. Just don't give in to his frustrations and ways. You need to **feel** right now to stay motivated in finding her_, I thought to myself as I shook my head before grabbing my wide-rimmed witch's hat from the nightstand.

"Nevermind. If you're not going to be useful, get out of my house and go get back to doing your mission for Xehanort. Pretty sure he doesn't want you hiding out and getting more powerful than him," I said glancing away from the raven-haired boy before I stepped out of my room.

As I walked towards the front of the stop, I saw Xigbar and Saix standing there with a dark corridor open. "Leaving pretty boy behind?" Xigbar asked with an annoyed look on his face as I tipped the brim of my hat down.

"He's the least of my problems, now let's hurry up and split the search. Let me know if you two do find her."

"Of course," Saix's words reached my ears as I slipped through the corridor, holding the small purple star close to my heart, wishing I had help from more people.

* * *

"S...Superior! What in the world..."

Vexen stood in shock as Xemnas walked through a dark corridor holding a crumpled form of Rauxdi, slipping in and out of consciousness, in his grip.

"Vexen, I hope that you can help tend to her wounds. She was found by one of the others in this state," Xemnas said with a stoic expression on his face as he walked past his former colleague.

"You can't be serious... Hold a minute," Vexen said as he rushed to clear a space on the table for her worn body to be rested down as Xemnas laid her naked body on the cold, metal surface.

Vexen quickly looked over her as he noticed that the current bruising and marks on her skin look very similar to when she was first brought to him in such a state. Vexen felt a lump in his throat as he had his back turned to his Superior.

"Xemnas, where did they find her exactly? Because from these markings, I would assume the same assaulter is targetting her..."

Vexen started to ask, trying to keep his suspicions from rising any further but he heard the footsteps shuffling away before a dark corridor opened.

"...Make sure she is fixed and presentable," He replied coldly before he left the scientist with the assaulted Nobody.

Vexen held his breath in fear before he rushed to find supplies and equipment to take care of her damaged body.

After what felt like hours alone with the body of his tolerable comrade, he was surprised when he came back from cleaning to find her struggling to get up from the table she was lying on.

"Rauxdi! Slow down, don't get up so fast. Easy, easy..." Vexen shouted and rushing to her side, realizing that she flinched at his voice before she glanced at him with a dull look in her eyes.

Vexen stopped himself from touching her, realizing that he almost died again due to her outbursts before. He held his hands out a few inches in front of him as he observed her ragged movements.

As she swung her legs so her feet were barely dangling and brushing against the floor, she looked up at the scientist with tears falling down her face.

"C..... Can I please get help with...." The words leaving Rauxdi's lips were so low and numb as her voice was hoarse.

Vexen took a deep breath before he continued tending to her wounds, hoping that maybe he could get some answers out of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will apologize now for the abruptness between scenes for both Rauxdi and Audri for this chapter. Originally I wanted to have two separate chapters, but I felt like I wanted to show these torn, abrupt feelings of time and emotion.
> 
> For clarification, Rauxdi's events until the last scene all happen right after she is taken by Young Xehanort from Radiant Gardens. Audri and Vanitas' conversation happens a few days later.


	17. Dance of the Daring

A dark corridor opened up as Xigbar rushed through, dashing towards Rauxdi as she sat there motionless in Vexen's lab. Her gaze was drifting as she looked up at the floor in front of her before Xigbar clamped her hands on her shoulders.

"Thank god you're alive. Are you al-" Xigbar stopped as Rauxdi looked up at him as her eyes started to gloss over again. Just like when he saw her in the same state from a few months ago. He bites his bottom lip as Saix appeared as well and came over with Vexen to talk about her condition.

"...her wounds are going to take longer to heal, but she will have scars on her back this time," Vexen explained to Saix as they came in range for Xigbar to hear his words about her recovery.

"Any news on the culprits this time?" Saix asked as Xigbar stood up with her back towards his comrades, not wanting to express his building rage. As he ran his fingers through Rauxdi's hair, she leaned her head forward against his lower abdomen and wrap her arms gingerly around him.

"She... we talked. And I'm confused as to why they would do anything of this horror if she has not done anything to upset them..." Vexen started to speak up before Xigbar raised his head in surprise, "She told you who did it?"

Vexen glanced over at Saix and Xigbar's back before crossing his arms over his chest, "Yes. But she promised that I cannot tell Audri about this."

"What does she have to do with this?" Saix asked, realizing that he is now out of the loop as Rauxdi's voice cracked through the air like glass.

"She's a pawn. They're going to trap her and use her in any way possible in the upcoming war. They're coming after me because she trusts me the most out of anyone in the Organization to tell her the truth. If she diverges from their plan..." She started to say as Saix could see Rauxdi's hands trembling as she gripped onto Xigbar's coat.

"None of you can stop them without getting yourselves destroyed. Even me talking to you all about this now... It's a risk to see that we're all destroyed," Rauxdi said as Xigbar helped her up from her chair as Vexen looked at the three of them alarmed.

"Saix."

Rauxdi's voice rang through the air as the bluenette looked at the distressed Nobody in front of him. Rauxdi looked up at him with a nervous flicker in her eyes.

"What was Xemnas' original plan for Audri?"

* * *

Rauxdi stood out on the balcony of the small hotel back in Traverse Town where Saix and Xigbar have been using as a base camp. She looked down into the alleyway as she was still trying to recollect her thoughts on what happened in the lab.

_"Superior made it clear that Audri was supposed to be a pet project disguised as a human and a Nobody co-existing at the same time," Saix explained as Xigbar helped Rauxdi stand her ground as the four Nobodies talked in Vexen's lab._

_"Once Vexen confirmed that she was indeed a Pureblood Heartless, we started preparations to create her in our own image as a powerful weapon," The Lunar Diviner explained as Rauxdi started to chew on my lip._

_"Not even a weapon, mind you Saix, but she was to serve us for two possible outcomes: To create more Heartless for the Keyblade Wielder to destroy so we can still artificially create Kingdom Hearts," Vexen stepped forward as he glanced at his comrades with unease._

_"What was the second outcome?" Rauxdi asked as both men glanced away from the redhead, adverting from her gaze until Xigbar sat her back down. As he took a few steps away and glanced back at Rauxdi, he sighed._

_"To be trained and become a strong enough Heartless to be slaughtered by our Keyblade Wielders if we didn't collect enough hearts in time."_

_Rauxdi's heart felt like it stopped as she looked down at her hands. She let out a snort before she threw her head back cackling. As her laughter died down, she looked at the three men in front of her who were surprised by her response._

_"Oh good. So I was right when I stopped Xemnas the first time. How thick do you think I am?" Rauxdi asked as she stood up walking towards the men. "So if that was the original plan, why would those all those damn Xehanorts want to silence me and have Audri still in their grasps?"_

_Saix and Xigbar glanced at each other before Vexen sighed, "I think I might know the reason why."_

_Everyone turned their attention to the Chilly Academic as he stepped forward, biting the tip of his thumb through his glove._

_"When she was still trying to control her powers, the Young Master Xehanort came and picked her up. Right afterward, he came back immediately to ask me what we knew about her powers. For him to experience her 'Heart walking' state, and after all that we did to try and obtain Sora as a vessel, we were this close to getting him to be on our side."_

_Vexen glanced over at Xigbar as he nodded, "From my observations, she is becoming too powerful to let waltz around freely and they were afraid that with her influence, that she would come across something they don't want her to see."_

_"Like what?" Rauxdi asked as she was tired of being given the run-around on all of their statements._

_"I don't know. But ever since everyone received their vessels, Master Xehanort has been asking me to turn my attention to other projects. It feels as if he is only telling former versions of his soul his current state of plans now," Vexen stated as Xigbar sighed._

_"Back to square one then."_

_"Of course..." Saix said calmly as he glanced over at Vexen with a serious look on his face._

_"Please keep this all under your hoods. The more of us that keep digging into their plans for Audri might cause a worse punishment than they can do to chica here," Xigbar motioned over to Rauxdi as Vexen and Saix nodded in agreement._

_"Rauxdi, let's get you out of this dreary place and let Audri know that you're okay. She has been kind of scary since I told her you went missing," Xigbar said with a smug smile on his face as the redhead laughed half-heartedly._

_"I'm so touched," Rauxdi said as Xigbar summoned a dark corridor._

_"I need to speak to Vexen in regards to this situation a little further. Go on ahead," Saix stated as Xigbar pushed Rauxdi through the corridor._

Rauxdi just groaned as she scratched her fingernails along her scalp as she tried to figure out what happened back there.

_Even if I pushed for more answers, I might as well forget having a working body after all of this._ She thought to herself before she headed back inside of the small hotel room. As she closed the door behind her, Xigbar was laying on the bed reading a book he had found on the nightstand with his coat and boots kicked onto the floor.

Xigbar looked up from his book and patted a spot next to him as Rauxdi smiled weakly sitting on the edge of the bed. "You doing okay?" He asked as he propped himself up on one of his elbows as his other arm reached over his waist, as he held his hand out to her in a small gesture.

She carefully grabbed his hand before he pulled her towards him and had Rauxdi lounging across his lap. "Still processing everything... Do you want me to be honest?" She asked as he played with the end of her hair by twirling it around his gloved fingers, "As long as it's not about me in bed."

Rauxdi just rolled her eyes, realizing that she needed this right now. She needed Xigbar's terrible banter to keep her sane and not realize that all the horrible reality is happening around her.

"I don't think Audri is as powerful and scary as they make her out to be."

Xigbar raised as eyebrow as he had a lopsided smile on his face, "Oh really? What makes you say that?"

Rauxdi pondered on her answer before she leaned against him, brushing her fingers along his exposed collarbone, "Because if she really.... and I mean really want to be powerful for everyone to fear her, she would have put in one hundred percent and destroyed everything in her path. To her, now that she knows she is a Heartless, she's given up all hope on living life."

"So, you're saying that her demeanor has completely flipped?"

"More like something broke and she's putting up a face to act all-powerful and scary."

"But why?"

"Maybe... Maybe she just wants to be left alone after all these years and accept her death on the end of a Keyblade."

"Huh! Interesting theory," Xigbar said as he grabbed Rauxdi's hand before he planted a kiss on her forehead, "but I think she's changed since you last saw her. I think she found a purpose again."

Rauxdi scoffed before she moved Xigbar's ponytail out of the way as she spoke, "What makes you say that?"

Xigbar nuzzled her cheek lightly as he whispered, "She reminds me of a certain Keyblade Warrior."

Rauxdi snorted, wondering if he meant Audri acted like Sora before something clicked in her brain.

She suddenly sat up, catching him off guard before she turned to face him, her face darkened slightly, "What did Saix mean by 'our Keyblade Wielders' when he mentioned Audri's sacrifice."

Xigbar's head dropped back into the pillow as he groaned out loud, "I can't get out of explaining this, can I?"

* * *

As I started to fly around on my broom through the blue sky, I could feel my cellphone buzzing in my pocket. I gripped the handle of the broom tightly as I halted to a stop.

I fumbled around my pockets for my phone for a second too long before I saw a burst of pink flower petals shoot out from the nearby forest across the horizon.

"This better be good news or I'm going to be _pissed_," I groaned to myself as I stopped feeling for my phone and shot straight for the signal of falling petals.

As I made my descent, I could see a small gathering of Reaper Nobodies below me. I gulped nervously as I landed carefully in the middle of the circle, seeing a dark corridor open up as Marluxia stepped through.

"Thanks for sending me the signal. Easier than texting for sure when I'm high above," I said as Marluxia sighed, his golden gaze flickering with relief as he nodded, "Of course. I have some good news for you from Saix."

"Saix? Oh man, that's never good news," I whined as he frowned, "Would you say 'Rauxdi is found and safe with Xigbar for the time being' as bad news then?"

I dropped my broom before I put my hands to cover my face. My body started to tremble as I felt the biggest wave of relief wash over me.

"Oh thank gods they found her. That's... Probably the best news I've gotten all day," I said as I pulled my hands from my face to reveal tears streaking my cheeks.

Marluxia sighed as he picked up the broom from the flower bed and handed it back to me gracefully. "Since that concludes your goose chase for her, I guess you'll be heading back to Twilight Town."

"Probably, I wish I could stay longer but... I have to make sure I got the rat out of my house," I said sheepishly, knowing that if Vanitas was still in my bed pouting, I wouldn't hear the end of it.

"Of course Audri, be on your way then," Marluxia smiled as his golden eyes flickered over my face with warmth. I smiled as I jumped back onto my broom and headed towards the sky.

As I started to cruise along with the clouds and enjoying the sense of relief that Rauxdi was found, I could feel a small ache in my heart.

_Right, I can't forget that I have someone else to worry about now and not just myself_, I thought to myself as I grinned thinking about a certain brunette.

While placing my hand over my chest, I glanced down and noticed a giant tower next to a beautiful lake.

"That's amazing! Maybe... Maybe taking one peek to check it out won't be so bad," I said with a grin spreading across my face as I felt my heart leap with joy, taking the chance to adventure while I was in another world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the slow uploads lately, I've been slowly cutting back on writing due to Re:Mind coming out in a few weeks, which means that there is going to be possibly longer ass chapters coming end game (which is already panned out! But still a while to go...)
> 
> Only downside is that it means more stuff to try and incorporate or weave in. If all that more pieces of lore don't make it, it'll probably end up in 'What If?' in the future once the entire series is done in case there are spoilers for those currently reading it as I'm posting.
> 
> If any of you read 'The Historian' the self-insert museum AU, i'm sorry about not getting the new year's post out yet. I've kind of fell behind due to some family emergencies and it hit really hard for home these last few weeks during the holidays.


	18. Carrot and Stick

I found myself walking through the plaza close to midnight as I finally got home from the Kingdom of Corona. Making dark corridors still takes some time to get used to, but I don't mind since I found myself to be the scariest thing in the world that no one else could harm me.

_Well, unless a Keyblade was to strike me down and beat me to death out of the blue now that I'm a Heartless,_ I just laughed at the thought because anyone getting beaten up by any metal object would hurt like hell either way.

I smiled as I saw my shop in the distance as I could feel my body starting to wear down on me, making me realize that I have been searching for Rauxdi non-stop the last two days and that I kept pushing my body to its limits.

I started to crane my neck as I whistled for the Possessor Heartless to come out and the door to open automatically. I stood there for a second before the skin started to crawl on the back of my neck. The Heartless usually comes to my call, so for them to not show up after a few minutes made me feel alarmed.

I scrambled for my keys and started to unlock the door. "Possy? Is everything okay?" I called out, slamming the door behind me with a massive shock to the building. I flinched as a terracotta pot fell off the shelf and shattered into pieces.

While my eyes adjusted to the lingering darkness, I could see a light coming from the kitchen in the apartment unit. I held my breath, the darkness began to pulse around my hands as I started to step forward with claws forming and contrasting in self defense.

As I stopped a moment from the kitchen corridor, I could hear the Possessor Heartless make a purring sound. It made my heart start pound hard inside my chest as I wondered who or what was making the Heartless act in such a manner.

I whipped my hands in front of me, taking a defense pose as I stood in the door frame.

As I looked into the kitchen, I could see Terra-Xehanort sitting at the table with the Possessor Heartless rolling around on the table as it was enjoying having its body being pet.

As I dropped my guard in annoynace, Terra-Xehanort noticed me standing there as the darkness dissipated from my hands. He flashed a cocky grin before laughing nervously, "Sorry I came over without notice. I was here earlier and found you weren't home. So I-"

"You made yourself comfortable in my house?" I asked with a slightly bitter tone in my voice. I knew that there was more to his fake facade while Xehanort possessed Terra's body, but I couldn't put my finger to what it was exactly.

Something about my tone did not sit well with him from the glint I could see in his eyes from where I stood.

Terra-Xehanort sighed as he got up from his chair as the Possessor Heartless slinked off. As it disappeared into the darkness, Terra-Xehanort crossed the kitchen with an unphazed look on his face before he spoke, "It's hard to find time to come and talk with you when the others are all over you."

_By others, he probably means Ansem, Xigbar, and Rauxdi? _I thought to myself as another person popped up in mind.

"Was Vanitas here when you came earlier?" I asked adjusting my body so I leaned against the door frame looking up at the man.

"I didn't actually. Were you expecting a home visit from that little monster?" He asked with a glint of curiosity in his eyes as I shook my head, trying to avoid eye contact.

"None of your business," I said with a smug grin crossing my face as Terra-Xehanort chuckled darkly.

"Oh Audri, if only you knew that we are trying to keep tabs and make everything you do is _our_ business. Don't want you getting any funny ideas," He said as he placed his hands on either side of my head as I looked up at him with a hidden look of anxiety behind my crooked smile.

"Oh please. I'm not just the Organization's property when it comes to anything relating to Heartless," I said glancing away from his face before I felt forced to face him as he had my chin in his grasp.

"You are so much more than yet and you can't even see how valuable you are," He growled for a second before he whisked his lips with force against mine. I felt trapped between the wall behind my head and his body as he closed the gap between us.

As I tried to push my hands against his chest, he pulled back for a second and groaned in my ear, "Why don't you just ally with us and be a proper Seeker of Darkness?"

I looked up at him as I could feel the tremble in my heart as I parted my lips, clicking my tongue against the roof of my mouth. I glanced to see a looming shadow surrounding both of us as I whispered, "Tempting Xehanort, but I like working with no directon."

A threatening growl came from both of them as I shoved his chest lightly. A red-magenta tendril from Dark Hide's head brushed against Terra-Xehanort's back as he scoffed.

"Surely I can't convince you otherwise," He asked trying to keep a calm demeanor as I brushed my hands along his face grinning as wide as the Cheshire Cat, "If you lend me your body and heart, I want to take you apart piece by piece."

I planted a firm kiss on Terra-Xehanort's lips as I pierced a single magenta chain from my chest through his own. His eyes fluttered closed as his body leaned against me, clutching onto him tightly before the Dark Hide nuzzled his back to lower his body to lean against the opposite wall.

"I'll be back soon, protect the place since I know Possy is the worst bodyguard," I whispered as the Heartless growled in reassurance before a portal opened up.

* * *

"Terra?" I asked out loud as I slowly approached the man from behind, seeing him standing in the middle of the courtyard in front of his home.

From where I stood, I could see him looking up at the sky with his keyblade armor on, and the keyblade he had struck in the guard, holding him up as he stood still.

I could see his broad shoulders move when my footsteps were within hearing range. I smiled for a second about to give a greeting, but I quickly dropped my smile when I saw this strange look of shame washing over his face.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, feeling a lump of anxiety slowly form in my throat as his eyes drifted down to my feet before fluttering closed.

"Audri, I... I think there's something... That you should know," Terra started to say as I stepped closer to the Keyblade wielder as his hands gripped the handle of his keyblade tighter.

"Something I should know? Is it concerning me at all, or is this your nerves getting to you in-" I stopped myself as I saw those darkened blue eyes of his.

He held his hand out towards me before I grabbed his gloved hand gently, as he pulled me towards his place in the center of the court, gently placing my hand onto the teal hilt of his keyblade.

"As much as I appreciate you coming to see me... Please be careful of Master Xehanort. I mean the version of him that is controlling my body."

I could feel my eyebrow arch as I glanced up at him with confusion, "You're telling me to watch out for him? I can understand if you're worried he's going to use me a vessel to be a Seeker of Darkness, but why all of a sudden?"

Terra's hand brushed over mine holding onto the hilt as his gloved thumb stroked the back of my hand, suddenly gripping the hilt and my hand.

I felt a small wave of warmth wash over my body as I glanced up to see his expression. He looked away for a second before leaning down to press his forehead against mine, like I was supporting him from crumbling on the spot.

"Something happened when he's possessing my body. I..." Terra's words fell stop as I could hear his breathing getting ragged as he pressed his forehead harder against the top of my head like a wounded animal.

His breathing started to get caught in his breath as he spoke up, "It makes me sick to my stomach and... I wish I had not fallen to darkness years ago. Because of him..."

I felt the air suddenly squeezed out of me as he suddenly unsummoned his keyblade and pulled me tight into his armored chest.

"T-terra, do you want to talk about it?" I asked, managing to squeak out the sentence as I felt his armor trembling.

"I... I don't know if I can forgive myself for what has happened. She..."

_She?_ I thought to myself curiously before I pushed back and gently cupped Terra's face in my hands. His face was cold as snow, and yet his body radiated a heat that licked my body like flames.

He nuzzled against my hand as the look in his eyes flickered of sorrow, "I don't want to see him hurt you too. Neither of you should be involved with this. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for not being strong enough."

I looked up at him blinking back tears, distraught that Terra was crumbling in the palm of my hands as I stroked my thumb against his cheek, knowing that he was standing here before me.

A keyblade hero who had fallen to darkness and now lives in utter regret with every decision Xehanort makes.

"Terra, hey. Hey... It's going to be okay. I... do you want to talk about this?"

Terra shook his head as he bit his lip until blood was drawn, "I... Being out of control of my body... It's a terrible feeling."

_There has to be more to this he won't tell me_, I thought to myself as I saw the hesitation cross his face. I nodded as I pressed the crown of my head firmly against his chest as I felt the older man embrace me into a tight hug.

I pulled my head up to see Terra look completely exhausted. A weak smile embraced his dimples before he slowly loosened his grip. He slowly brought his gloved hands to my face, brushing his lips lightly on my forehead. I could feel his body trembling, but to a lesser degree when I first saw him this visit.

"I can't offer much right now, but let's call this my version of a protection spell," Terra's voice rang in my ears as my eyes fluttered closed feeling a massive amount of warmth washing over my body again. It felt like I had a gust of feathers brushing all over my body with a bright reddish-orange tinge in my mind.

I tried to keep myself from having a big goofy smile on my face, but I couldn't help it as I looked up at him smiling.

"Thank you Terra. I'll be safe knowing you're watching over me."

A smile flickered to his face as he slowly pulled away from me, moving his hand slowly down my face to cup my hands, firmly grasping it in his grip.

"What brought you here today?" He asked, feeling alot better than moments ago.

"I wanted to hear more about your life and your adventures to other worlds."

Terra looked at me for a moment with surprise on his face before he erupted with laughter.

"I... I see, I guess we could spend today doing that. I can tell you all about this one girl who made me realize that any dream is worth believing in."

I felt an infectious smile appear on my face as I walked with Terra down the garden path to the cliffside, "I would love to hear about that."

Hours passed as Terra and I talked about adventures and stories related to our friends and loved ones. Terra had comforting stories related to his Master and his friends Aqua and Ventus. I only remember a lot of the stories when I lived with Organization XIII, but they were times I cherished fondly.

"And let me tell you, Aqua would bake like she was trying to..."

Terra's story got stuck in his throat as he gripped my hand.

I cocked my head up at him, "What's wrong?"

His other hand cupped the side of my face as he looked in my bright golden eyes, as if he was searching for some deeper meaning to my soul.

"Are you okay?"

I looked as him taken aback as I asked in a joking manner, "What are you talking about?"

"I mean that you don't... you don't look well," He explained as he pulled his hand away from my face as I looked up at him before a heartful laugh left my throat.

"What? I feel just fin-"

I stopped as I started to cough. A growing lump in my throat turned into a coughing fit that felt like I was being burned from the inside out.

I suddenly pulled back and collapsed back on the grass as my hands were brought to my mouth to contain the cough.

"Audri!" I felt Terra's hand brush against my back as I could see his face out of the corner of my eye as he leaned down to comfort me.

I felt my chest get tight as I felt something spill from my mouth and drip onto my hands.

I blinked the tears back as I saw red and blackish blood sticking to my fingers.

"What in the...? How did you..." I stopped speaking as I started another coughing fit, feeling a phantom pain searing into my back as my legs started to buckle.

After a few moments, my body felt normal aside from the searing pain in my back.

"Something's wrong. But I don't know what could be triggering this," I started to say as I tightly grabbed my shirt, clutching where my heart was before feeling a crackling growl slip from my lips.

_This is a terrible feeling. I've never had this happen... Wait, what if something happened to Hyde? She is a Heartless connected to me after all_, I thought to myself as I glanced up to see the look of fear on Terra's face.

"You should get out of here. Whatever is happening, please get somewhere safe to recover," Terra said as he carefully pulled me up to my feet.

I nodded as I started to slowly summon a portal back home through the chain protruding from my chest. From the vision I could see from the other side, it looked just the way I left Terra-Xehanort resting in the hallway of my apartment.

"And don't forget-"

"Be careful around Xehanort. I got it Terra, don't worry about it," I said trying to force a smile on my face even though I can feel the pain creeping up the back of my spine.

I took a small step towards the portal back home before I felt Terra grip my wrist tightly. I looked back at him with curiosity in my eyes as his gaze softened.

"Before you go..."

I felt Terra pull me into another tight embrace with his hand resting on my lower waist and the other gripping the back of my head tightly. I could feel the warmth slipping from my body as he whispered into my ear, "Please be okay."

My breath felt caught up in my lungs before I nuzzled against his armored chest smiling as I felt his fingers working themselves through my hair.

"I'll be back soon, I promise Terra." I said as I slowly pulled back from his embrace as I saw the look of worry on his face.

Terra sighed deeply before he ruffled my hair, "I know you will."

* * *

I gasped in shock as I felt myself collapsing on the other side of the portal. I gripped my chest tightly with my hand as I could feel my breathing was starting to go ragged again.

I glanced to my side to see that Terra-Xehanort was still unconscious as the chained connection between the two of us started to crack into pieces.

_What the hell... That's never happened before either_, I thought to myself as a flood of panic seeped into my heart.

"Hyde, w... Where are you?" I called out as I leaned against the wall as I slipped towards the shop entrance.

I closed my eyes tightly, trying to feel the Heartless' presence, but the next thing I hear was a shrill roar coming from outside. I started to cough again and almost doubled over in pain as I felt my lungs filling with some type of liquid.

_Oh no, Hyde... What is happening?_ I thought to myself as I forced myself to rush out of the house and stopped the minute I saw two figures standing with their backs turned towards me.

I scanned the morning air and felt my soul scream in pain as I saw the Dark Hide crumpled on the ground with massive gashes and wounds all over its body. I started to step forward before I saw one of the figures summon a keyblade and strike the Dark Hide against the head, making it scream in anguish.

I collapsed onto the ground as I felt the pain roll all over my body. Clutching my head, I closed my eyes tightly as I felt footsteps coming towards me.

"Well hello there princess, where _oh_ where... have you been sneaking off to?" I heard Vanitas' voice ringing through my head as I felt my body starting to burn all over. I turned to lie down on my back as I felt the erupting pain starting to gather inside of my chest.

I slowly opened my eyes to see through my hazy vision of Vanitas and Ansem standing over me with unfriendly expressions on their faces.

"I... Don't know what you are talking about," I managed to choke out as Vanitas pierced the end of his Void Gear into my shoulder. I started to let out a frusterated scream as Vanitas flashed a twisted grin.

"We need her alive, you know that more than I do," Ansem retorted as he grasped the hilt of Vanitas' keyblade, pulling it slowly from my shoulder. The tears sprung out from my eyes as the keyblade left a numbing sensation in the wound as it slipped out.

"I know, but if she came out faster, we wouldn't be doing this," Vanitas growled as I felt a wave of dizziness wash over me. My eyes started to flutter closed as I felt Ansem scooping me off the cobblestone road in front of my house.

As the strength and consciousness slipped out from my body, I could hear the sound of footsteps from the distance before a hand brushed along my cheek.

"You two know what to do. Make sure to cover your tracks."


	19. Muzzled Heartless

_Please be safe..._

I felt my body being washed over with a feeling of warmth with Terra's words echoing throughout my head. Something felt wrong with my body as my eyes fluttered opened. I found myself lying on the ground as rain poured down and drenched my body.

Trying to stretch my arm towards the dark sky above me, I felt a sudden jolt run through my body. "What in the hell?" I gasped, feeling the pressure, heavy on my chest as the massive surge shot through all of my muscles like I was on fire.

As I lied on the ground motionless and unable to move, I sobbed silently before I felt someone scooping me up in their arms.

"You're finally awake."

Xemnas' voice rang through my ears as I rolled my head into his chest as I felt my heart bubbling in confusion and fear.

"Xemnas? What happened? Last I saw... Vanitas and Ansem...! They..." I started to speak before I felt a massive lump lock my throat up as I looked up at him through the black haze returning over my vision.

Xemnas did not answer the question as he summoned a corridor. I could feel my skin go into shock from the sheer cold wrapping around my exposed skin like knives. I tried to lurch from his arms, but he held me tight against his chest as he strode forward.

"Xemnas, please... What did I do wrong?" I started to whimper, not wanting to suffer from the sheer cold before he stepped through the other side of the dark corridor. I glanced to the side for a moment to find ourselves outside of the Old Mansion in Twilight Town.

I felt my skin prickle in sudden pain before I realized that a looming darkness was wrapping around the area. I whimpered from the abrupt presence in front of us.

"Thank you for picking her up," I heard Ansem's voice as he took a few steps towards us.

Xemnas grunted in annoyance as he looked at the Heartless in front of him, "Why did you need me here?"

"Just in case things got out of control."

"What are you talking about," I piped up in fear as I felt Ansem's hand brushing through my hair as he responded coldly, "We wanted to finish what Xemnas tried to start months ago."

A smirk laid on Ansem's face as I felt Xemnas starting to lower me to the ground to stand on my feet. Before I realized what had happened, Xemnas pulled my arms behind me and forced me to stand between the two men.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as Ansem tilted my chin up with his hand, gently brushing his lips against mine. I wept for a second, flinching back as I felt the man bite my bottom lip, hard enough until blood was drawn.

He smiled before he wiped the blood from my lip and licked it off his fingers in an eager manner. He stepped back a second before he snapped his fingers.

Xemnas let go of me and gently pushed me forward, not realizing that the gentle shove had me completely collapse on the floor.

I slowly stood up onto my feet before I glared up at Ansem, seeing him beaming with pride as I snarled, "You bastards need to stop jerking me around like this."

Ansem chuckled as he held his hand out before slowly squeezing his fist with a deep magenta aura surrounding his hand.

As I took a step forward, I could feel my heart starting to collapse with pain. I gasped for a moment in shock before falling to my knees.

"What... in the hell... was that?" I managed to muster as the pain went out instantly like a lit match.

"Did you really think that as someone who researched all about Heartless wouldn't know of a way to control them if they were... unwilling?" Ansem spoke as I felt his looming presence. I glanced up to see him made a closed fist again with an amused smile on his face.

A burning feeling rushed through my body as I let out a screeching noise from the bottom of my being. I curled up on the ground squirming as I heard Xemnas speak, "A loyal dog should not bite the hand that feeds."

"A-Ansem.... Please... Please make it stop," I started to yelp as I held my fists tight to my chest, hoping I can rip my heart out of my chest as he scoffed, "Only if you do as we want, little one. Now, let's get you ready."

* * *

"Come on Demyx, we can't waste any more of their time because of your tardiness," Vexen growled as he called to the younger Nobody following after in through the corridor.

"Hey, easy for you to say!" The brunette said with a frown on his face as he bumped into Vexen's back as he stopped walking.

He peeked over his shoulder to see that they exited the portal was standing in the middle of the Keyblade Graveyard. What looked strange was that there was a raised platform made of stone as three figures stood on one side of the area as a solo figure stood on the other side.

"What exactly am I supposed to assist you on again?" Demyx asked meekly as another corridor opened beside them as Master Xehanort, Ansem, and Saix stepped out. Vexen scowled as he glanced back at Demyx with no proper answer to give him.

_Seriously, what is going on?_ Demyx thought to himself as Master Xehanort acknowledged them before stepping towards the edge of the stage.

"Are you sure it won't get out of hand?" The old man asked as Ansem stepped forward.

"She's under my control. Besides, it helps them face a dangerous entity," Ansem said with a coy smile on his face as Vexen and Demyx glanced over to the single figure on the opposite side of the side.

"Vanitas, stand down until we need to knock her out," Master Xehanort commanded to the youth who stepped back while the two hooded figures stood on center stage.

Vanitas scoffed as he summoned his keyblade, "No promises old man. She's getting shredded if she comes near my range."

"Alright newbies! Get ready to fight for your lives!" Vanitas barked orders as the two hooded figures flinched.

"I can't believe you're pairing me with the baby. Like I can't take a Heartless on by myself," One of the figures pulled their hood back to reveal a silver-haired youth with bright golden eyes.

His bangs whipped around in front of his eyes as Ansem barked with laughter. "Riku, you're going to regret those words. Audri, lay it into them," The Heartless man spoke as he barked in the direction of the solo figure.

The figure flinched as it pulled its hood back. Demyx's eyes widened as he could see the look on Audri's face.

Her face was completely scratched up with scars running over her eye and her jawline from the angle she stood. Her white hair was an absolute mess as it fluttered off her shoulders and the bangs clung around her face in a wavering form.

What concerned the young Nobody the most was the look in her glowing eyes.

A flicker of dull amber in her bright golden eyes. Something looked very wrong with her.

"Vexen, did you know about this?" Demyx whispered into the man's ear as he glanced down at the young man with concern, "I didn't."

Before another word was uttered between the two Nobodies, a sudden cracking noise erupted throughout the air and Dark Riku was thrown back towards Vanitas by the sudden shockwave. Vanitas caught the young Replica and tossed him back towards the center of the stage.

"Concentrate or she'll eat you both alive!" Vanitas called out like a personal trainer as Dark Riku and the other hooded figure drew their keyblades.

Riku got back into stance again as he saw Audri stepping from the dust cloud with Dark Hide flanking her left side.

Their eyes were both glowing before Audri held her hand out, making the Heartless stand down. The Heartless bowed its head as Audri sprung forward on both feet before summoning orbs of darkness, manifesting into claws around her hands and slash at Dark Riku.

He managed to catch one of his claws on his Soul Eater before pushing her back and take another swing at her back.

As Audri bounces back and drags her claws into the arena floor to slow down her pushback, Riku whips back around at his partner who stood by with the Kingdom Key, not moving an inch.

"Get in there or we're both done for!" Dark Riku shouted making the young figure nod nervously before running forward to strike Audri's side.

She quickly dodges the keyblade and hisses in a venomous tone as she crouched down like she was going to pounce. Dark Riku ground his teeth before a smirk found its way into his face.

"Let's see if you're able to dodge this," He shouted before he lifted his blade into the air before he hovered a few feet above the ground with dark energy swallowing him up.

Vanitas jumped off the stage as Saix casted a barrier around the area so they wouldn't get hit off the sidelines. The entire ground soon started to spread with a massive darkness, clouding the area before Dark Riku appeared in a twisted form.

Audri slipped out of focus for a second as Dark Hide jumped in front of her to guard her as Dark Riku started to teleport around the arena and strike his target repeatedly.

"Jeez, the brat is just showing off," Vexen scoffed as Master Xehanort laughed, "It is best that they train now before the final battle. She will help hone their abilities and be their biggest threat."

Demyx looked at all of the men there in fear of speaking out before he glanced back at the arena in front of him.

Dark Riku seemed to finally take a step back to assess the damage to see that Audri was on the floor with the Kingdom Key in her shoulder. The hooded ally must have snuck in when there was an opening to land a strike on her.

Audri was wheezing before she started coughing up blood onto the ground. Dark Riku scoffed as he stepped forward, signaling to his partner to step away. They glanced up at him before pulling their keyblade out of Audri's shoulder as Dark Riku towered over the Heartless girl's battered form.

He scoffed before he landed a powerful kick into his chest, sending her back and tumbling on the ground.

"Pathetic," Dark Riku growled as he stepped forward and landed another powerful blow, sending her body forward and slamming against the barrier Saix put up.

"Audri! Vexen, Ansem! Can't we stop this already? She's going to get killed in there," Demyx piped up, finally having the courage to say something realizing that his dear friend was not even trying to fight back as she lied motionless for a moment.

Vexen nodded realizing how drastic this situation has before.He glanced over at the others standing there as he barked, "Was I only brought here to treat her wounds? Sir, you must realize that she-"

"This was the only way," Master Xehanort spoke out as he put his hands behind his back, completely shutting the man down. Vexen glanced at the old master in disbelief before shouting towards the arena, "Riku! Stop this immediately!"

"Why should I?" Dark Riku called out as something twinkled on the ground a few feet away from where Audri's body was launched against the barrier.

"If they pitted two against one, she should be strong enough to fight back," Dark Riku stated as he slowly stepped towards the item on the ground.

He leaned down to pick it up, smirking as he saw the purple sea-glass star on the chain.

"Heh, must be a lucky charm. I guess your luck has just run out, right you Heartless bitch?" Dark Riku called out as Audri slowly struggled to stand on her feet, leaning against the barrier with one hand.

Vexen could see Audri's body was struggling to stay steady as her legs were about to buckle underneath her and her body was flickering in and out of the darkness.

_This is bad. If this continues on, she isn't going to make it._ Vexen thought to himself as Dark Riku clenched the sea-glass star in his hand.

"Perhaps I should just destroy this. Losers like her don't deserve a reward, am I r-"

* * *

I could feel my heart burning in my chest as the silver-haired brat kicked me back into the barrier. I could feel the blood rising up in my lungs as it made its way out of my mouth.

_Those bastards... To weaken Hyde and myself so we could barely fight off their control, just so fought some soul-bearing vessels of Xehanort... What a fucking way to go out_, I thought to myself as I felt my vision was starting to go black. I could hear Dark Riku's voice as Vexen shouted at him.

_Why did I think everything was going to go back to normal?_

_This is stupid, life is stupid._

_This is a lost cause, I should let them finish me off._

_I'm a Heartless..._

_I'm not even supposed to coexist with the Light._

"...must be a lucky charm."

Dark Riku's voice pierced my brain as I opened my eyes. I looked up to see Dark Riku holding into the sea-glass charm.

_Rauxdi's necklace. I forgot, Xigbar gave me it..._

"I guess your luck has just run out, right you Heartless bitch?"

_And I..._

_I did something stupid._

I slowly forced myself up to my feet even though my body felt like hell. I gasped in pain from the blow on my shoulder starting to ache more than a burn. Keyblades are serious business.

I could feel my body starting to flicker as I ground my teeth trying to stay conscious.

_I made a promise._

"Perhaps I should just destroy this."

The words started to echo through my head and started to dig into my skin like a blade.

_No...._

My heart dropped as my body started to flicker in the darkness pooling at my feet.

_No._

I felt my voice caught in my throat as I saw the amused look on Dark Riku's face.

_NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo_

I tried to blink back the tears as I forced my body from the barrier, struggling to stand on my feet.

_"I'll be back soon, I promise Terra." I said as I slowly pulled back from his embrace as I saw the look of worry on his face._

I ground my teeth as blood continued to spill from my mouth and down my chin. I felt something burning in my chest, but this time it was different. I felt it forcing myself to keep focus and stop fading. I rushed forward from a small clumsy jog to a full-on sprint while Dark Riku turned around to face the crowd of onlookers.

_Terra sighed deeply before he ruffled my hair, "I know you will."_

"Losers like her don't deserve a reward, am I ri-" Dark Riku was stopped mid-sentence as he felt something tightly grab his torso hard enough that the pain of various bones being broken became a shock to his system.

_I'm here because of him._

Dark Riku gasped as blood dripped from his mouth as I kept squeezing, a more demented version of a claw morphed into a type of bear trap. I closed my eyes as the inaudible voice from Dark Riku turned into a scream as I crushed the life out of.

_I'm here because I want..._

Dark Riku's hand trembled before he lost its grip and dropped the necklace on the ground. I tossed Dark Riku's destroyed vessel to the side as I stepped forward, picking up the star-shaped necklace glancing at it with amber tears running down my face.

_I'm here because of..._

"Vanitas, Ansem! Restrain her before she does any more damage!" Master Xehanort shouted as Saix suddenly dropped the barrier in surprise as Vanitas charged in with his Void Gear summoned.

I gritted my teeth before I slammed the sea-glass star into the middle of my left tricep as the darkness seeping from my wounds wrapped tightly around the charm. It shined brightly for a moment before its light dulled to a flicker. I turned my attention to the two men entering the stage as I pulled my hair into a ponytail from some shredded fabric from the coat Ansem and Xemnas forced me to wear.

"Don't expect her to be in one piece!" Vanitas shouted as he swung the keyblade down over my head. I slid off to the side like I was moving in a body of water and rammed an elbow into Vanitas' ribcage forcing him to fly back a few feet before he charged again.

I felt my body starting to tighten up as I could see Ansem trying to control my body from the sidelines with the vial of blood he absorbed from me earlier. I hissed in annoyance before I let out a forced whistle, motioning Dark Hide to pounce the Heartless man.

The Heartless shot her tendrils out at Ansem, catching him off guard as he had to break concentration to avoid the attack. I sighed in relief as Dark Hide started a full-blown assault against Ansem before Saix stepped in to take control of the situation.

I whipped around before I felt Vanitas' keyblade slash at my stomach. I gasped from the sheering pain before the warmth from earlier washed over the wound, making the pain sustainable while I stood my ground.

_Heh, I guess Terra's protection spell is a real thing_, I thought to myself with a smug smile as I faced the Monster of Negativity.

"You are dead the minute I get my hands on you," Vanitas said followed by a hysterical laugh, forcing himself forward and swung again at the shoulder that got damaged earlier.

I dodged Vanitas' attacks as much as I could from my injuries before I could feel a slight burning sensation tingling against my back. It was like a hot spark that indicated like a warning.

I swiftly jumped to the side to see that the hooded Keyblade user was striking the air where I was standing.

Vanitas looked at the hooded Keyblade user before hissing in annoyance. I felt a smirk rest on my face before I heard a shrill cry.

I looked to see that Dark Hide was pinned down by Master Xehanort and Saix with their weapons as I could see Ansem rushing towards me.

I tried to take a step back before I crouch down on all fours with the burning sensation wrapping my body in a suffocating hug.

"You're not using me ever again like this," I snarled as I charged towards him like a feral animal. Ansem just smirked as he came at me with his hands open.

I yelp as he tries to wrestle me to the ground with a hand on my throat as the other hand tries to dislocate my wounded shoulder. "Do you really think that because you're in such a state that you are invincible? You know that I can rip your heart out and leave you to die," Ansem scoffed as I ground my teeth feeling his fingers digging into the open wound.

"Like you're so tough, why don't you all just fuck off already?!" I snarled as I ripped him off with my free hand before a phantom chain burst from my chest and swatted him away like a whip.

Ansem fell back a few meters on his feet with a gash on his arm. He was about to approach but a dark corridor opened between us.

"That is enough Audri."

Slowly, Xemnas stepped out from the portal before it closed behind him. I furrowed my eyebrows as I noticed my skin was turning black as ink. I flicked my attention to the others standing by, not moving a muscle as Xemnas stepped towards me.

I bared my teeth, realizing that the canines felt longer and more grotesque as my body felt very different. More distorted and deranged like a wild animal. Xemnas looked down at me before summoning his Ethereal Blades, "You are beyond the capabilities I foresaw. It is a pity I have to be the one to do this upon you."****

My pupils dilated for a moment before I realized that Xemnas had teleported and was immediately behind me.

_Shit, he's faster than the last time I fought him!_ I thought to myself as I quickly rolled off to the side before feeling a singed feeling on my back. I snarled for a moment realizing that Xemnas managed to land a hit on me before I got out of his range. I tried to jump back up to my feet, realizing that whatever feral Heartless form my body took was not bipedal.

I crashed for a second, smashing my jaw into the ground before hearing the static growing in the air, realizing that Xemnas was not far away. I was about to move forward but I suddenly felt my hair being yanked from behind as I was dragged onto my knees. I pulled my hands up to find Xemnas' gloved hand was interlaced and locked in my hair as he stood behind me like he caught a beautiful mount.

I was about to start pulling away but I felt the heat and static from the Ethereal Blade in his hand lightly brush against my skin. I felt my body get chills all over as Xemnas' husky voice whispered into my ear, "I command you to stand down as your Superior."

My body started to flicker is distress as I bite my bottom lip instinctively, feeling drawn in by Xemnas' power like it has a strange hold over me. I was brought back to reality as my scalp was burning from the harsh grip that Xemnas tightened on my hair, forcing me to look up at Ansem who towered in front of me.

"Is it alright if she stays in our custody for the meanwhile?" Ansem called out as Master Xehanort nodded, giving the man a signal as Ansem bent down to my level.

I felt the blood rise from my throat from Vanitas' earlier blow, wanting to curse him out. Ansem ran his fingers across my bloodied throat from the blood that was caught out earlier as he brought his fingers to his lips.

It felt like the air being pulled out from my throat as Ansem withdrew the fingers from his mouth. I was pleased for a moment to see an annoyed look on his face before he brushed his thumb over my bloodied bottom lip.

"You still need training little girl," He whispered into my ear as I saw him snap his fingers.

I could feel dizziness wash over me before I slipped unconscious.


	20. Weeping Flames

_What a disaster yesterday was. To think that they used Audri in such a manner_, Saix thought to himself as he exited the dark corridor to find himself in the middle of the Second District in Traverse Town.

_As long as Rauxdi does not hear about what happened, I need to cover up Audri's absence for the time being until I gather enough information to see what is happening..._

Saix's thoughts were cut off as he entered the hotel lobby to hear screaming and cursing coming from one of the hotel rooms.

As Saix approached the room and opened the door carefully, he sees Rauxdi and Xigbar arguing with each other as Demyx tried to get between the two of them before things got out of hand.

"-promised me that she wouldn't be involved!"

"I didn't know anything about this! I swear on my-"

Saix cut in as he slammed the door behind himself as he stepped towards his comrades, "What are you two fighting about this time?"

Rauxdi's eyes were dilated as she glanced in Saix's direction before she snarled about to lunge herself at him but Xigbar immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and shoulder, holding her back.

"Hey, hey! Easy chicka, easy there," Xigbar tried to calm Rauxdi down as she glared Saix down as Demyx jumped in between Rauxdi and Saix trying to distract her attention from the bluenette.

"**_You._**"

Saix just stood there before pinching the bridge of his nose before he glanced over at the two men, "What is going on?"

"Demyx just told us about Audri. Rushed right on over to tell us what happened after they dragged her away," Xigbar explained as Saix felt the rage growing in his chest as he looked at the meek Nobody.

_I'm seriously going to kill Demyx myself_, Saix thought to himself as he glanced at Rauxdi seeing her starting to calm down as Xigbar kept coaxing her.

"I was promptly filled in by Master Xehanort before I arrived on the scene. No one else was informed about this test until we showed up yesterday. The only ones who knew in full detail was Master Xehanort, Ansem, Vanitas, and Xemnas."

Rauxdi felt her chest tighten as she took in a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly. She opened them again as Xigbar released her from his clutches, letting her roam the hotel room for several minutes in silence.

"What is going on? After Xehanort promised..." Rauxdi's voice drifted through the air as Xigbar glanced over at Saix a little uneasy. Demyx let out an awkward cough before he spoke up, "If... Xemnas knew, why wasn't he present for this test?"

Saix shook his head before Rauxdi crossed the room to look up at the bluenette. The flicker of stress was seen on her face as Saix saw how red her eyes were and how strained her voice sounded when she spoke, "Do you know where they could have taken her? Demyx said that Ansem took her away."

"I do not. I was having to collect data and analyze Audri's aftermath on the vessel she fought against," Saix crossed his arms over his chest as Demyx cringed, remembering what had happened with Dark Riku.

Xigbar stepped forward as he placed a hand on Rauxdi's shoulder. "What is their plan anyways elf boy? I assume you're in the loop since I knew none of this," Xigbar said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Saix sighed as he closed his eyes trying to remember his conversation with Master Xehanort, "They're concerned they will not be able to control her if she tried to betray us."

Demyx glanced between the four of them before speaking, "Come on Saix, do you think that she can be considered that big of a threat to restrain her?"

Saix turned around as he headed for the door, wanting to find some space to unwind without hundreds of questions being asked of him.

"You saw what she did to the Riku Replica's vessel. Can you really say that she's not dangerous after that?"

* * *

I sighed through my nose in frustration as I looked out the window. From where I sat, I could see the dwindling sunset resting over the trees in Twilight Town.

Being held in the Old Mansion wasn't exactly ideal, but I guess that was the price for destroying one of Master Xehanort's vessels.

_If they were just a bit stronger and wiped the floor with me, I would probably be on my merry way_, I thought to myself as I carefully pulled my bandaged knees to my chest. When I woke up a few moments ago, I found my clothes were switched to me wearing a simple large t-shirt with shorts.

All of my cuts and gashes were stitched up and the bruising seemed to be healing for a while now. Even the singe burn from Xemnas across my back was unnoticeable.

_Either I've been out for a few days or Vexen has been hiding all the good medical shit_, I thought to myself before I crossed my arms over the tops of my knees and lean my forehead forward.

I heard a dark corridor opening up from the other side of the room as my hand twitched nervously. "I'm not doing your bidding anymore Ansem," I hissed under my breath before their voice reached my ears.

"I'm glad to see you're awake."

I turned my head to see Young Xehanort standing there wearing those infamous black coats of the Organization. "Let me guess, are you one of the masterminds keeping me here in the datascape?" I asked with a sour tone in my voice as he sighed walking towards the edge of the bed.

"Surprised you know about the datascape. We're keeping you in here for your own good. All we ask is of your time before we let you go back to the real world," Young Xehanort explained as I raised my head in annoyance.

"My own good? What a bullshit answer."

I could see the expression on his face was cold with a flicker of destruction in his eyes but I dismissed it as I shifted my body to lean against the window sill.

"Why am I here Xehanort?" I asked out loud as the man stepped forward holding his gloved hand out.

I raised an eyebrow as he turned his palm downward before he summoned his keyblade and gripped the hilt of the black and teal blade. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I felt my wounds starting to itch and burn.

"I've been told that you've been affected by the keyblade. Mostly when you are in the presence of someone who threatens you," He explained as he pointed the keyblade; having me stare down the detailed blade. I gripped onto the bed as the pain spiked with intensity as it moved all over my body. It felt like I was looking down the barrel of a gun that could end my life in an instant.

I could see the satisfied smirk on his face as he unsummoned his weapon. I could feel the pain subside. I exhaled being able to breathe normally as he continued, "After analyzing your battle with Riku and No. i, we came to his conclusion with how badly wounded you were. Even a weapon harnessed in darkness still can destroy a subject of darkness."

"We want what's best for you. To be kept away from the keyblade wielders of light so they don't cause you harm. Without your help, we won't be able to reach our goal," Young Xehanort said before he snapped his fingers opening a corridor behind him.

I winced as I tried to lean forward. I quickly grabbed onto my bandaged shoulder as I felt the pain encompassing my entire body.

"What even is that goal Xehanort?" I snapped at him with a bitter tone as his hand cupped my face gently before he stepped back through the portal.

"Time will tell if you're loyal enough."

The statement caught me off guard as I felt my jaw clench. The dark corridor closed behind him, leaving me alone in the room.

_Loyalty? What a cruel way to ask for loyalty by leaving me in here,_ I thought to myself as I looked up at the ceiling, seeing the flickering of data fragments and binary code disappear.

* * *

"Goddammit," Rauxdi cursed under her breath as she dodged the incoming attack from a Cyber Yog Nightmare as it charged at her. As she slide against the rubble beneath her feet, she could hear a dark corridor open behind her.

Not pay attention to the newcomer, she launched herself at the Cyber Yog as she hooked the lance in her hands against its horns as it tried to trample her.

"Any news or sightings?" Rauxdi called out not turning around as she knew there was only one other person that knew to find her among the ruins in Daybreak Town. Rauxdi saw a flash out of the corner of her eyes as laser bullets struck the Nightmare in its blind spots, destroying the creature on the spot.

"No dice sweetheart," Xigbar replied as he walked up behind the redhead Nobody and rubbed her back with one hand. He could see the blood caked on Rauxdi's hands as she stood there trembling, barely holding onto her lance.

"We should get you home Raux. It's been-"

"Five days. I know how many days it's been Xigbar. How can I sit still though? If I go out world-hopping like a lunatic, the others are going to know for sure something is up!" Rauxdi scoffed as her weapon dissolved as she glanced back at him. Xigbar's eye widened to see how bloodshot Rauxdi's eyes were and how grey her skin looked with cuts and bruises.

_She's really pushing herself to the brink this time_, Xigbar thought to himself as he leans forward to brush strands of hair from her eyes.

"It's not like they're going to tortur-"

Rauxdi slapped his hand away and turned away in frustration, "You don't know that for sure Xigbar."

Xigbar sighed letting Rauxdi walk off on his as a group of massive pureblood Heartless appeared from the shadows surrounding her. Rauxdi let out an agitated scream before she cast fire spells and slaughtering the creatures of darkness.

Xigbar was able to join her in the fight but his phone went off in his pocket. As he pulled it out to see a new message from Demyx, he glanced at the screen to see another hopeless search gone awry.

**Demyx**: Still no luck. Will double check C.O. in a few and ask Vexen. There's no way they left her to recoup without him patching her up after that battle.

**Xigbar**: Let me know what you find out ASAP. I think I have a notion on where they could be keeping her, but if I'm wrong, it's going to definitely raise alarms with the higher-ups. So I'll wait to see if Vexen knows 100% before we charge in.

**Demyx**: I'm on it! We'll find Audri, just keep Rauxdi calm though. She was so distraught I thought she was going to kill me when I first told you guys...

Xigbar placed his phone back into his pocket as he glanced up to see Rauxdi was lying face up in the rubble around her. _Not one Heartless in range, must have already wiped them out_, Xigbar thought to himself as he walked over summoning his Arrowguns.

"Hey babe," Xigbar called out as he walked over to see Rauxdi looking up at the overcast sky above them.

"Good news or get out of my face," Rauxdi said calmly as the flicker of light in her eyes extinguished out to a dull golden color. Xigbar smirked before he stood over her and pierced the Arrowgun right next to her head on the ground before leaning over.

"Want me to help release the tension? I think you need a sparring buddy," Xigbar stated as Rauxdi's gaze went from the sky to the older man hovering over her frame. A small smirk flashed across her face as she ran her fingers against the barrel of his weapon, "Try again."

"I mean we could go on a fucking spree but I don't think you'd be conscious enough for that," Xigbar chuckled under his breath as he summoned a portal underneath the two of them before they found themselves on the streets of the World That Never Was. Or what was left of it exactly.

Rauxdi hoisted herself up from the ground before Xigbar grabbed ahold of her hips and grinned brushing the butt of his gun against her stomach, "Doesn't this really bring you down memory lane?"

"You mean when the most I had to worry about what Audri pissing on Xemnas because she failed a test?" Rauxdi asked as Xigbar hollered with laughter.

"God I miss those days."

"What changed?"

Xigbar tightened his grip before he teleported both of them on top of Memory's Skyscraper before planting a gentle bite on Rauxdi's exposed neck.

"Everything, if you want me to point out the obvious," Xigbar muttered as Rauxdi laughed slipping from his grip to sit on the edge of the building with her legs barely hanging off the edge. She glanced back at the Freeshooter batting her eyelashes at him before he walked over and pulled her between his legs as he sat with her.

Rauxdi nuzzled back against his chest as they looked at the world below them.

"Xigbar?" Rauxdi asked quietly as Xigbar placed his chin on the top of her head, "What's up chica?"

Rauxdi grabbed Xigbar's arms and wrapped them tightly around her shoulders as she closed her eyes, "Thank you for not giving up on me."

"What? What makes you think I would?" Xigbar asked, surprised by her statement as she leaned her face into the crook of his elbow.

"I was afraid I was going to be... Too broken beyond repair for you."

Rauxdi felt Xigbar's arms tighten around her body as a silent sign that told her all she needed to know. She smiled weakly before she felt her body being overcome with sleep.

* * *

I drummed my fingers against my stomach as I noticed the room getting darker and darker by the second. I slowly sat up and dipped my legs off the side of the bed.

_It's been two weeks now. I don't feel hungry and the rest of my body functions feel like they've been put into a coma_, I thought to myself as I looked back at the setting sun behind me.

I could see the small flicker of sunlight over the forest canopy as I stood up and dusted my clothes off. I felt like a doll collecting dust on the shelf, not seeing another living soul for days.

_I should see what is even in here. I can't imagine this place being incomplete..._

I walked over to the door as I felt my feet slide across the cold hard floor as I brushed my hand along the table in the middle of the room. I raised an eyebrow before grasping the candelabra resting on the table in my hands. I smiled in relief as I noticed it still had a candle with enough wax to burn for a period of time.

"Time to go adventuring. I'm tired of reading all of these books," I said out loud, opening the door to see the eerie atmosphere of the rest of the mansion.

As I walked alongside the second story banister, my fingers trailed the dark chestnut wood before I glanced at the area below me to the heart of the house.

Even though the building was a digital replica, the beauty of the torn-up scenery sprang a joy in my heart I didn't know I could have. Something about the musky smell of the building brought a familiarity to me as I made my way to the other side of the staircase.

I was about to make my descent down the stairs to check out the rest of the house before I felt a lingering smell wafting in the air.

_The smell of... daisies and wax?_ I thought to myself curiously before I glanced up to see another door on the other side of the wing. I gripped the candelabra and quickly walked towards the door on the other side of the mansion before I cracked the door open.

Once stepping inside, the room was completely pitch black the moment I stepped inside.

"Guess it's time to light this up then," I said under my breath as I snapped my fingers and a small flame sparked over the candle, illuminating the room. As I held the candelabra up to light the room, I was surprised to see how stunning white and plain the room looked.

To be honest, it looked like I was in another building altogether with the color scheme and the furniture designs. There stood a white dining table with two chairs and a solid white vase in the middle with white daisies.

As I stepped closer to inspect the white-themed room, I saw the floor and walls were littered in drawings. Glancing along the photos, I could see drawings and sketches that look like they had faded with age. As I brushed my fingers along the drawings, I could have sworn that I had visited this place before.

As I firmly grasped the candelabra's base in my hands, the cool metal seemed to spark a faraway memory when I was causing more trouble for Organization XIII.

_This... It looks like Naminé's old room back at Castle Oblivion.That was... before I stole all of the art supplies to make a mess for Xemnas and Saix out of boredom..._ The memory caused a smile to flicker to my face before I felt a looming sadness come over me.

_So much has happened since then_, I started to think to myself as my brain continued, _it feels like I've been stripped away from the dream and placed into a twisted nightmare._

_...What changed?_

"Enjoying your stay?"

I heard a voice calling from behind me as I turned away from the drawings on the wall. My heart dropped into my stomach as I saw Xemnas walking towards me from the doorway.

_Xemnas... Something changed between us as well, and I can't explain it. It's like my body tries to shut down at his beckoned call..._

I looked down at my feet as I shook my head and looked back up to see the candlelight dancing in his amber eyes.

"What do you..."

I bit my tongue as I looked up at the Nobody Superior in front of me.

_If what Vexen told me all those months ago was true..._ I stopped myself as I lowered the candle from his face.

I could see the mild expression on his face as I spoke up again, "Xemnas, what do you remember about me?"

The answer seemed to pull a faint expression of surprise onto Xemnas' face before his hand reached up to brush the stray hairs from my face.

I paused for a second trying to word my explanation.

"Vexen explained that each Soul, or each Heart placed into your vessels are from distinct points in a timeline. He explained that Luxord or the others might not remember their lives completely without a few holes in their memory. Others might be luckier. So..." I trailed off before I looked up at his face that returned to being expressionless, "What do you remember?"

"I remember everything. From the day I whisked you from your homeworld to the last command I gave you before my demise at Sora's hand. Do you remember what it was?"

His deep voice made my heart tremble as I could feel it searching through the many memories I had made since that day. My mind went blank as I felt his gloved hand cup my chin as he held the candelabra from my hand with the other.

_When did he..._

"Well Audri?"

"Deal with the parasites immediately," I could feel the words forced from my heart as he smirked in praise, tracing his thumb against my bottom lip.

_Become so alluring?_

"If only you didn't influence the others so easily in the Organization. You were..." Xemnas started to say as he pulled his hand away before he turned around with the candle in hand and headed back towards the doorway, beckoning for me to continue the conversation elsewhere.

I stood there for a second before feeling pulled in his direction to follow. I lowered my gaze to the ground as I placed my hand over my heart.

_Why am I so obedient to follow him? It's not like he did anything amazing. And yet..._

I thought to myself as I closed my eyes, trying to search for the answers before I stopped dead in my tracks.

_Ansem struggles to keep me in line while Xemnas just needs to gently tug on the cord he has around my heart._

I let out a nervous chuckle as I followed Xemnas back to the room on the other side of the mansion as he stepped inside. I felt my body freeze up as I hesitated going into the room.

_Xemnas has been perfecting his hold over me for years._

I slowly walked in and closed the door behind me. I saw Xemnas set the candle down back on the small table in the center of the room.

He turned towards me before he stepped forward. I reeled back by impulse before my back was flush again the door.

_...Have I always been his pawn?_

Xemnas was standing before me with an arms-length gap separating us. I could feel my palms pressing against the cool door before Xemnas shook his head in disagreement.

"I regret letting you bring Rauxdi into the Organization. She was the one sliver of light in a world of nothingness that kept you from growing further than you could have," Xemnas said as he took a step towards me.

"Light? How can you say that when she was a Nobody?" I asked as Xemnas' hand reached out and pulling more strands of my long, whispy hair to his lips.

I was glad the candle was the only light source as I could feel my cheeks burning brilliantly as he inhaled deeply to take in my scent. 

_Xemnas would never be this affectionate. Is this really the man who swept me away all those years ago? Is this... because he has heart fragments from Master Xehanort? _I thought to myself before his voice erupted from the darkness surrounding us.

"Rauxdi was your source of tranquillity. She was the guide that kept you on the path from not becoming the destructive and powerful woman you were supposed to be. So she became what you could have been to steer you away."

"Even if she didn't know she was a Nobody until after we entered your lives, she was your keeper. You needed to be independent to grow stronger," Xemnas continued as I could feel his body heat radiating through his coat.

"Independent my ass! You kept me hostage in the Organization and be basically babysat! I was brought onto missions and you all..." I stopped myself as I could see the glowing gaze from Xemnas' eyes. The fierce amber-orange eyes I could see in the dark resonated with my heart like a predator luring out their prey. I stopped speaking immediately and bit my bottom lip hard.

_What is making me so submissive? This is the same Superior I've known for years..._

I could have sworn I saw a flicker of deep blue in his eyes and the silver whisps of hair framing Xemnas' face turned deep brown.

_No..._

I closed my eyes tightly as I brought my hands up to my face, covering my mouth in confusion.

_Things did change when I learned about Sora._

_And Terra, he..._

_...Why did you need me now Xemnas? I just want to know what purpose I even have here_, I look away from Xemnas with worry, trying to not look at the Nobody as I felt my hair drop back onto my shoulder.

I heard him sigh deeply before he stepped forward, trapping me with such a small gap between us immediately making me tense up and look up at him with a slight tremble in my heart.

His hands placed themselves on my shoulders, gently running his thumbs around in circles as I could feel my body relax before my hands dropped from my face to my side. It's like I melted into the palm of his hand in an instant.

_Am I living because of Terra... or Xemnas?_

"I wanted to make you into the most vicious and beautiful Heartless I've ever seen. Can a man not be curious when he lets such wrath, anger, and sorrow unleash itself onto the world?" I heard Xemnas' voice drop to a deep whisper before I felt my head being tilted up by his gloved hand.

_I..._

My eyes opened wide with doubt before I felt Xemnas brush his lips in a gentle caress against mine. I felt a blooming warmth wash over my body before I pulled my hands up and placed them firmly against his chest trying to push him away.

_I don't know if I can save Terra._

Xemnas growled as he grabbed my wrists and pinned my arms on either side of my head on the door. As his hands trailed down my wrists, there was this commanding energy I could feel from the Superior of the In-Between that moving my hands to touch him was punishable.

His hands trailed down to my waist and ran circles across my hips as he started to slide the bottom of the t-shirt over my waist. Letting out a frustrated moan as I wanted to feel his hands on my skin, Xemnas took the chance to shove his tongue into my mouth, penetrating every inch behind my lips as I felt my body starving for more.

After a few moments, he pulled back as I could see the flicker of dominance behind his amber-orange eyes.

_Can I even save another person when I can't save myself?_

"You were the perfect specimen out there. I want you to thrive and be my best work," Xemnas murmured quietly as he leaned his forehead against the top of my head as he held me still. I could hear my heart pounding away in my chest as I felt tears well up in the corners of my eyes.

_Xemnas..._

My arms dropped to my side like a heavyweight was placed on my heart. As I opened my mouth wanting to lash out against the Nobody, I broke down and cried against his chest. Xemnas took the chance to close the gap between us as he leaned down for another dominating kiss. I felt my body being shifted before Xemnas hoisted me against the wall and ordered me to wrap my legs around his waist.

_I'm nothing but a failure._

_I don't deserve any of your praise._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This weekend was going to be a double update for both 'Phoenix' & Historian, sadly I got so caught up in work and trying to grind through Kingdom Hearts 2.  
Otherwise, here's the chapter for this weekend. I was hoping to get two chapters out for my birthday tomorrow in the satisfaction that they're a lot more Xemnas-centric.  
If anything, I will probably not sleeping tonight since I'll be half gaming and trying to write, as well as contemplating how old I'm getting.


	21. Bittersweet

I fluttered my eyelids open as I could feel the sunlight coming through the window. As I shifted myself awake and brushed my hand through my hair, I felt something tickling my nose.

I flinched for a second before I looked up to see Xemnas' face as he slept soundly for what looked like the first time in years. His long silver bangs were brushing against my face as I remembered that we fell asleep with me cradled in his arms.

_I feel bad that I fell asleep before him_, I thought to myself as I adjusted my clothes as my former Superior's head droop forward, his back against the window sill as he fell asleep propped up.

I closed my eyes for a second, feeling something primal coming over me as I nuzzled against the sleeping Nobody's chest. Even if he was fully dressed in his coat, the warmth radiating off his body was the only thing keeping me from leaving his arms.

It's been a week since Xemnas showed up at the Old Mansion. Ever since then, he's been by my side keeping me company, although it felt like I had no choice in the matter. Then again, this was the same man who grooming me to never leave his side or turn against him in the future. Maybe they figured it was best to use the one individual who has full control over me.

Funny though, I stopped wanting to leave. I was out of the Organization's plans and I wasn't completely alone to go insane inside the datascape. Even if their plan was to hold me here, I just enjoyed the thought that I wasn't being involved in their fucked up plans involving Kingdom Hearts for the meanwhile.

_Still... I wish that I could leave the data scape so I can speak to Terra_, I thought to myself as I opened my eyes again with a deep breath escaping my lips.

Terra.

Something was going on with me and I can't explain it. It felt like.... Terra was being pushed out of my mind and Xemnas filled the void with his presence. There were moments where I wanted to give up on saving Terra. It made me feel guilty but it became a vicious cycle on uncertainty.

I can't put my finger on why I started to feel like this after all this time, but...

It feels like that since I've given up on myself; there was no way I can save Terra.

My thoughts were interrupted as I felt a brief kiss planted on my forehead. I quickly looked up just in time for Xemnas' lips to brush against mine as he went for another kiss. The warmth washed over my body again as I felt the Superior cup my face before he pulled back.

A smile spread across my face as I looked into Xemnas' amber eyes, "Did you sleep well?"

"I did. Thank you Xemnas."

"Good. I need to discuss something important with you." The tone in Xemnas' voice made the skin crawl on the back of my neck. I forced a confused expression on my face as I smiled cheerfully.

"What do we need to talk about?"

"How do you know Terra?"

I could hear myself internally screaming as I glanced away with a nervous and forced chuckle, "What do you mean?" Xemnas' hand forced my chin to face his hard expression as I could feel myself shrinking beneath his gaze.

He leaned forward before he placed a kiss on my ear whispering, "I wasn't going to let you get away with what happened yesterday." I closed my eyes, realizing what he was talking about...

_I held Xemnas' hand loosely as we had finished walking around the Twilight Town datascape since I was tired of seeing the Old Mansion's walls. As we started to make our way back to the Old Mansion, I stopped in my tracks and let go of Xemnas' hand._

_"Is something the matter Audri?" Xemnas asked as I glanced along the brick path beneath us. I fidgeted for a second before looking up at Xemnas' face with a twinkle in my eyes, "Can we make one last stop and see the sunset from the train station?"_

_Xemnas raised a hand for a second, making me flinch before he brushed his hand along the top of my head. "Even if it is not the same, I suppose we can go."_

_My heart almost leaped out of my chest as Xemnas followed behind me slowly as I dashed off towards the train station like a sheltered child finally seeing people for the first time. As I ran up the sloped path, feeling the heavy t-shirt cling to my body as my body swayed. I could feel a weight lift from my shoulders as I came across the empty court in front of the train station._

_I glanced to the side and gasped as I ran to the edge of the brick wall. As I placed my hands down to peer over the dwindling city of Twilight Town, I could see the faint horizon of the beach with the sunset twinkling along the water's surface._

_I could hear footsteps behind me, glancing back for a passing second to see Xemnas walking over and placing a hand on my shoulder._

_"Thank you for this Xemnas," I said with a smile closing my eyes for a second before I turned back towards the sunset._

_"Of course Audri."_

_I snapped my head towards the direction of the voice as I saw Terra standing in Xemnas' place. He was wearing a tight-fitting black shirt with red suspenders, a small metal band on his wrists, and deep tan hakama pants._

_I could feel my heart getting caught in my throat as I couldn't believe who was in front of me. He turned from the sunset and glanced at me with a worried look in his sparkling blue eyes as he spoke, "Is everything alright Audri? Your face looks flushed."_

_I shook my head and I laughed half-heartedly, "You worry too much Terra, I'm doing just fine." I was about to turn back to watch the sunset but I felt a hand wrapped around my wrist and spinning me around violently as I came face to face with Xemnas._

_"What did you just call me?"_

_Realizing that what I said was out loud, I could feel my blood run cold as ice. "A-ah... I mean... I..." Xemnas' grip tightened as I looked up at him with a pleading look on my face, "I... I don't know? I thought that I... was saying you were terri-"_

_The look on Xemnas' face hardened as I realized it was better to shut up seeing that my excuse was piss poor. I tried to come up with a better answer but Xemnas started to pull me away from the brick wall and back towards the path we came up from._

_I felt my heart get stuck in my throat as Xemnas didn't speak to me again for the rest of the walk back to the Mansion. When we walked through the forest clearing, Xemnas stopped for a second before he turned around and violently pulling me towards him._

_"Xem...nas?" I asked quietly while his eyes scanned my face like my fear would have the answer to my slip up. He loosened his grip before he turned back towards the Mansion gates and left me alone in the courtyard._

"So let me ask you one more time..."

I felt snapped back to reality as Xemnas tilted my chin up to inspect my face, "How do you know that name?"

I bit my bottom lip before I responded with a question of my own, "Why should I tell you?" The look on Xemnas' face made me raise an eyebrow as there was nothing but annoyance in his eyes.

"I want to know the truth in case this happens in front of the others," Xemnas' reply caught me off guard as I tried to scan his face for any other motives behind it. I could see a slight flicker in his eyes showing a spark of concern before they dulled over with a dominating nature.

_Is he trying to..._

"Will you answer my next question truthfully?"

"Indeed."

I could feel the next question sitting in the deepest parts of my heart as it made its way to my lips, "Are you trying to protect me?"

Xemnas sat there in silence as the hand holding my chin up moved to cup the side of my face.

"...I am."

I could feel my hands twitch as they sat in my lap as I looked up at my former Superior with caution, "But why? Why are you going so far?"

The silence sat in the air as Xemnas leaned down and kissed the top of my forehead as my gaze drifted down.

"It is nothing to concern yourself with," The deep rumble from his chest said otherwise as I shifted my gaze to his face.

I scrunched up my face as I brought my hands up to cup his face, "Do not give me that bullsh-" I got the wind knocked out of me as he pinned my body down to the bed with an Ethereal Blade up to my neck.

"Don't tempt me."

The look on Xemnas' face was agitated as I looked up at him with my own fierceness flickering beneath my golden eyes.

"Tempt you? Oh please, that's what I should be saying," I hissed hoping to give the man a hint; as a smug smirk came to his face before he pulled the blade away.

He started to move off of me and quickly stood up from the bed. My eyes widen, realizing that I pissed him off more than expected.

"Wait!" I grabbed the hem of his coat sleeve, stopping him from moving any further. I could see Xemnas' broad shoulders stiffen, noticing that he let his defenses down for too long.

"Why won't you tell me? What do you gain from having me protected by-"

"Do not concern yourself with _why_," Xemnas replied before he pulled his sleeve from my grasp and made his way to the doorway, closing the door behind him. I was sat there with my hand still outreached to where Xemnas was standing before pulling my arm back to my chest.

_How badly did I fuck up?_

* * *

Rauxdi is waiting impatiently outside of the giant crevice in the wall. She's been watching pedestrians watching her loiter around the entrance to the haunted old forest behind the wall for a while.

"Where are those two morons," Rauxdi hissed under her breath before she felt someone slap her ass. She jumped forward and turned around to see Xigbar peeking through a dark corridor grinning as he waved at her nonchalantly.

"You ready?" Xigbar asked as Rauxdi walked over pulling the man from the corridor and slamming him into the wall, "I've been ready for days. Can't believe you had me waiting to-"

"I thought you were going to make her not scary," Demyx whined as he slipped from the dark corridor and closed it behind him. Rauxdi glared at the young Nobody before taking a deep breath and letting go of Xigbar's coat.

"You know you needed to rest so we can fight on an even playing field," Xigbar said as he hooked his arms both around Demyx and Rauxdi's shoulders as he pulls them towards the forest.

"Well, what did you two find out?" Rauxdi asked in a hushed tone as Demyx pulled his phone out and showed her pictures he had taken.

"Ansem and Vanitas have been lurking around the building for a few days now. This seemed like the best time as they take a break from guarding the place for us to sneak us," Demyx explained as Rauxdi skimmed through the photos to see that they were on the clock pretty much night and day.

"So we're going to be able to sneak in that easily? I doubt it," Rauxdi mumbled under her breath before she felt herself being carried up in the air like gravity doesn't exist here.

Rauxdi was about to go off on the man but Xigbar placed a hand over her mouth as Demyx grabbed onto a tree branch gesturing to the clearing in the forest.

As Rauxdi glanced over to the entrance of the Old Mansion, she could see Xemnas talking with Terra-Xehanort as they made their way into the building. As they watched the two men slip through the mansion's doors, Rauxdi pulled Xigbar's hand from her mouth as she whispered to the two men, "Any idea what is going on?"

"No clue. Now that I think about it, Xemnas hasn't been at any meetings over the last few days," Xigbar commented and Demyx nodded in agreement, "Do you think they knew we were coming?"

"Doubt it kiddo. There must be something else going on that we don't know about. Come on, let's hurry and find that computer before anyone else comes along," Xigbar said as he grabs Rauxdi and Demyx by the collars of their coats and teleports them to the entrance.

Rauxdi felt relief as her feet touched the ground while Xigbar summoned his Arrowguns gesturing to Demyx to summon his weapon as well.

"As much as I'd love to have you go batshit crazy on them, it'd be best if you can be our hands for when we need you to quickly get into the computer," Xigbar explained giving Rauxdi a wink with his eye as she carefully opened the doors for them to step inside.

"How do you know so much about the datascape Xigbar? I didn't know this existed until I asked Vexen," Demyx spoke up after a few minutes of them checking out the entire first level before they made it up the staircase.

"When Roxas went missing, my Snipers found this place was being run by my old master Ansem 'the Wise'. I figured the data scape would be pretty useful in the future."

"To be honest, I used the data scape once for Audri after Raux here did all the dirty work," Xigbar stated as the redhead stopped in her tracks.

"Wait, are you telling me you harbored Audri in the datascape after I knocked her out? Was that your plan from the beginning when-" Rauxdi stopped as Xigbar held the barrel of the gun to his lips as he gestured to the door at the end of the hallway that was standing ajar.

_No turning back now_, Rauxdi bit her lip as she cracked her knuckles, following the Nobodies to the door as they opened the door to the library.

* * *

I stood in front of the mirror resting on the wall in the library. I got dressed in some clothes I found in a locked chest at the end of the bed. They are a little bit big for my frame, but they will manage for now. As I pulled my hair into a high top ponytail, I could feel signatures of darkness forming from somewhere else in the mansion.

_Xemnas must be back as he disappeared for a while, but who's the other one?_ I thought to myself as I kept looking at my appearance in the mirror. Aside from the new scars across my face from the damage Dark Hide received from Vanitas, I somehow felt smaller in the mirror than how I stood before. It's like all the life was taken out of me as my body was crumbling at the seams.

With a leather crop vest covering up the deep mustard yellow tank top underneath and dark black shorts, I felt almost complete. As my eyes trailed down my arms, seeing that the skin looked ashen and dark from the tips of my fingers up to my elbows.

My gaze stopped as I could see the purple star-shaped charm wrapped around my arm tightly by a band of pulsing darkness. A small pang of guilt sat heavy on my heart while I brought my hand up to brush against the cold sea glass.

_I can't keep sitting around, now that Xemnas assumes that I know something about Terra_, I thought to myself as I started making my way towards the door. As I grabbed the handle and opened the door, I jumped back in surprise as I saw Terra-Xehanort standing there with a smirk on his face.

"Xehanort! What are..." I felt my words fall off my tongue as I could feel the darkness rolling off of his body, suffocating me. I put my hand to my mouth like I was trying to keep the stench from overpowering me as Terra-Xehanort smiled holding his hand out to me.

_Shit, is this because I was away from them for a period of time that everyone else's darkness is trying to overpower me?_ I thought to myself as Terra-Xehanort started to speak.

"Xemnas said he wanted me to watch over you today. He said you enjoy walking around town," Terra-Xehanort said with a warming smile on his face as I felt my hand slowly reach out for his.

_Don't go with him!_

I felt my hand stop its reach as I heard a small voice chirp out of nowhere. The fact that Terra-Xehanort wasn't phased by the voice meant only I could hear it.

_Stay close to the Mansion_, I listened to the small voice erupting from my heart as Terra-Xehanort looked at me with an arched eyebrow as I dropped my hand to the side.

"I... Don't feel well enough to go into town today, thank you Xehanort." I forced a small smile onto my lips as he laughed half-heartedly. "But you look like you're about to go out somewhere with how you're dressed."

I stepped back away from him as I could feel the darkness around him was starting to flicker with an impatient nature.

"It's fine Xehanort. I like it when Xemnas takes me out. I'll just wait for him to come-"

Terra-Xehanort stepped forward and grabbed my wrist tightly as he pulled me towards him. "If I didn't know better, I would say that you like it when Xemnas is around. Even if how much control he has over you, you fold like a house of cards," Terra-Xehanort said as the tone in his voice went cold as I could feel my confidence shrink under his domineering nature.

"Now, is there a particular reason why that is?" He hissed as I tried to pull my hand from his grip, but he was a lot stronger than I realized. "I trust him," I managed to say boldly as Terra-Xehanort ground his teeth before pulling me out of the library, "Well, you should trust me too since he and I are one and the same."

As Terra-Xehanort yanked me outside of the mansion, I kept trying to pull my grasp from his hand. It felt like I was trapped in his iron grip and there was no way to escape.

"Why is so important that I leave the Mansion today?" I called out in confusion as Terra-Xehanort stopped facing me altogether as he yanked me into the forest clearing past the gated entrance.

"Why do you need to know... Why can't you just be obedient like you have for him?" He snarled for a moment as I felt a whimper leave my lips in a submissive manner.

As I realized his grip loosened for just a second, I quickly snapped my hand out from Terra-Xehanort's grasp and suddenly slashed out at him, knocking him onto the ground.

"Xemnas!" I shouted as I ran back towards the Mansion's abandoned walls before I felt my body being tackled to the ground with my arm being pulled behind my back to a point that it felt like my shoulder would be dislocated or ripped off at any second.

I felt the tears prickle down the edges of my cheeks as I felt Terra-Xehanort's grasp on my arm began to feel like he was crushing it. "We're leaving!" Terra-Xehanort barked as he pulled me back up to my feet back to push me towards the forest edge.

"Xehanort, let me go! Can't I leave this place already?!" I wept as I tried to pull my arm from his grasp. I felt a hand wrap around my throat tightly before I could see Terra-Xehanort's Guardian Heartless floating before the two of us. The ominous look on the Heartless' face did not seem to falter as it started to squeeze my throat, causing me to slowly choke for air.

"If you just do ask we ask, you'll get to go home as soon as everything is over," Terra-Xehanort whispered into my ear as I felt his hand yank my head back to look up at him.

_Liar._

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

_They'll never let me leave here._

_At this rate..._

I felt the tears running down my face as I looked up at Terra-Xehanort's face.

_Terra..._

I closed my eyes tightly to block out that possessed smirk and those intoxicating molten gold eyes.

_I'm sorry._

I felt the whisp of something shot go straight past my face as I was soon shoved forward and caught by something else.

I opened my eyes to find myself looking up at a familiar face.

"Demyx?" I asked in surprise as the sitar-loving Nobody smiled giving me a thumbs up, "Sorry we took so long. We're bad at passwords."

"What are you..."

I turned around quickly to see Xigbar was holding his Arrowguns up to Terra-Xehanort's chest while Rauxdi holding her lance through the Guardian Heartless to keep it from reappearing somewhere else.

"Rauxdi, Xigbar!" I called out as they didn't break concentration from their targets.

"How did you know she would be here?" Terra-Xehanort asked with a hint of toxicity in his voice as the Freeshooter rolled his eye, "When you hide someone with that much darkness seeping out of their soul, did you think no one would notice if it disappeared completely?"

"Fair enough," He smirked as Rauxdi growled, "You're letting us take Audri back with us and leave her out of this!"

"And why would we do that?"

I saw Rauxdi being knocked to the ground with a hint of smoke coming from her side as Xemnas stood there with his ethereal blade out in one hand.

"Xemnas! You know this isn't right!" Xigbar shouted as Terra-Xehanort took the man's distraction as a chance to summon his keyblade and strike Xigbar's weapon away. Xigbar jumps back for a second before he teleports closer to where Rauxdi was and helped her off the ground.

_Xigbar, Rauxdi! Please don't do this, why are you here?_

"Do you really think there is a benefit taking her back to the real world right now?" Xemnas asked coldly as I could see his eyes flicker over to my direction like he was beckoning me over to his side.

_I just want this to stop._

"Keeping her locked away like a caged animal is not any better," Rauxdi said as she held her wounded side before she summoned her lance with one hand.

_Leave me alone..._

"And you think you deserve to make a decision for her?" Terra-Xehanort snapped as I felt Demyx pull me up to stand on my feet.

_Stop speaking for me..._

"Shouldn't we let her decide then?" Xigbar asked as all four pairs of golden and amber eyes landed on me. I felt my skin crawl as I could feel their intimidating auras. Even with Demyx right next to me, I could feel a lump form in my throat I see the Guardian Heartless reappear by Terra-Xehanort's side.

_Everyone..._

"Indeed. Audri, what do you choose? Do you want to stay here away from the fight, or do you want to go back to face grim reality?" Xemnas asked as I could see his ethereal blade disintegrate into the air. I could tell that he didn't want to fight, but he wouldn't me go easily.

_I want this to end._

I slowly raised my hands up as I grasped the deep purple bruise forming around my neck as everyone looked at me.

"Stop..."

_I want this to all end..._

I started to speak as my hands started to tremble as Demyx took a step back with caution. A surge of darkness appears at my feet as it spread across the ground faster than an oil spill in water.

"Stop assuming you know what I want!" I barked out loud as Dark Hide appeared from the shadows, pouncing the Guardian Heartless, assaulting it for the damage it did to its user.

Everyone else was thrown off by the sudden surge as I lunged in the center of the five Seekers of Darkness and massive magenta chains sprung out of the ground and pierced through three of the five Seekers before a massive golden-orange shield encompassed me.

* * *

I felt myself descending in the darkness towards what looked like a world beneath my feet. As I braced for impact, I found myself feeling a massive warmth wash over my body as I broke through the surface and was dropping out of the sky.

As I summoned my broom to lighten the fall, I found myself staring off across the world and seeing beautiful purple and white buildings. What stuck out to me the most was the giant looming tower in what looked like the outskirts of town that seemed to look like a very old-fashioned clock tower.

I looked down and found myself coming down on a cliffside farther away from the town than expected, but I could see a small figure standing there along the edge. As the winds softened my fall as I reached the ground, the broom disintegrated in my hands immediately as the hooded figure standing before me had their back turned towards me.

I stepped towards them slowly before they held their hands up and started to speak, "I am impressed that you are able to traverse into our hearts so efficiently now. It seems like you've been practicing, right Audri?"

I nodded as I came up beside them seeing the town glistening in the distance before I glanced up at them, "What is this place Xigbar?"

Xigbar chuckled as he pulled his hood down and placed a hand on my shoulder before speaking, "It's a long story, but to make it easier on you, this is where I'm from."

I just looked up at the Nobody before shrugging, "Alright." Xigbar just scanned my face for any other answer before laughing, "Alright? Sheesh, where is your sense of wonder? Aren't you just the bit curious on what-"

"Not really. Xigbar, I'm tired and relieved you came out to find me with Rauxdi and Demyx. Thank you for doing your best."

Xigbar raised his eyebrow at me as he shook his head, "You should be thanking Rauxdi. She's the real reason we're here right now, she was afraid that you were going through the same thing they put her through."

I felt my heart flicker in my chest as I pressed on, "_They_? Are you saying that... whoever hurt Rauxdi before is in the Organization?" The look on Xigbar's face as he closed his eye and turned away from me said all that I needed to know.

"I... Want to apologize to you while we are here," Xigbar said after a moment of silence that it caught me by surprise.

"Apologize for what?"

"I asked Rauxdi, about a year and a half ago, to be my apprentice so to speak. I told her information I wanted her to hold close to her chest and not let anyone find out where she got it from," Xigbar explained as he slowly sat down on the ground as the flowers pushed themselves closer to the ground.

I held my breath as I realized where he was going with this.

"Some of the other higher-ups noticed her change in both Organizations and tried to snuff out what she knew. She survived and never told a soul, but..." Xigbar's words hung in the air as I stood there feeling tears running down my cheeks.

"As much as I want to have her stay out of my business now, she needs... Rauxdi has to stay until the very end with me."

I wiped my face with my arm as I shook my head in silence.

"I should get going," I started to say as I turned around and started making my way away from the cliffside before Xigbar grabbed my hand, ceasing me from going forward.

"Before you go..." Xigbar held his other hand out and a book appeared out of thin air between the two of us. The book had a deep blue cover with white sigils inscribed all over the cover and the spine.

He handed the book over to me with a smug look on my face, "This was a book given to other apprentices under my Master's guise. I never received one, so I don't even know what's in this copy. But from what I have from my memory..." I raised an eyebrow at him as I held the book in both of my hands, brushing my fingers on the heart-shaped sigil in the middle of the cover.

"I assume you are going to be traversing through other people's hearts, so can you take this to Raux for me? She'll know what it is when she sees it," Xigbar explained as he crossed his arms over his chest.

I nodded as the book disappeared into a small light before it got absorbed into the sea glass star wrapped around my arm.

"Be a good girl now!"

* * *

I blinked as I found myself standing on top of Memory's Skyscraper in the World That Never Was. I looked around as the weather seemed to be a massive storm above as the rain pelted on like I was getting hit with bullets.

_This is different, whose heart is this?_ I thought to myself as I took a step forward towards the edge of the building. As I peered on over the edge, I could see the city beneath us was flooded with water and it looked like a violent hurricane right in the eye of the storm.

"Holy shit..." I said out loud before I felt something pierce the middle of my back.

"You shouldn't be here," I heard the familiar voice speak up as I turned slowly to see Rauxdi standing there with her hair being swept up in the wind.

"Rauxdi! What is all of this?!" I called out as I stepped towards the redhead. She glanced away from me before she balled up her hands into fists and swung a punch at me. I easily dodged her attack and grabbed her wrist as she screamed.

Something struck a chord in me as she wasn't screaming in anger, it was in pain.

"It's..."

I looked down at Rauxdi as the storm ceased like time was stopped to see the tears running down her face. The howling winds and the crashing waves were silenced as Rauxdi sobbed in my arms. I pulled her up and gave her a tight embrace as her hands dug at my clothes.

"Xehanort did this to me."

Rauxdi finally spoke up as she pulled herself away from me to look down at my confused expression.

"The... Young Xehanort and the Xehanort we found in Castle of Dreams... They did all of this to me," Rauxdi explained in a hoarse voice as she stepped back from my arms as she started to disrobe her coat. As the black coat dropped at her feet, my heart leaped up to my throat as I saw the massive scars and bruises all over her body.

I put my hand to my mouth, feeling nauseous from all of the blood pooling at her feet as Rauxdi looked up at me with a cracked expression.

"I... It's a long story, but they have abused me a few other times since then," Rauxdi said quietly as I stepped forward to grab the coat from the ground and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Why didn't you tell me Raux? I could of..."

"Because I was afraid they would have done the same to you," Rauxdi replied immediately as her eyes flickered with pain as I searched her face for a better answer. Her eyes told all as fear crept to the surface.

"I wanted to protect you. After what happened when you first met Master Xehanort, I realized that you didn't want any part in this. I... We should have left you alone," Rauxdi's words trembled as I held onto the Nobody tightly.

_You should have._

I shook my head and held her face, "It doesn't matter now."

_It does matter._

"I have to do something about what they did. Rauxdi, they hurt you so badly," I started to speak as I could feel anger washing off of my body.

_Why did you have to get involved with Xigbar?_

"You shouldn't! You should get out while you can," Rauxdi's words fell onto my deaf ears as I bit my bottom lip as my eyes just took in her broken appearance.

_Then again... Why did I get involved with Terra?_

I sighed as my hands dropped to my side. "I can't. I made a promise to someone, so I need to finish this through," I said quietly as Rauxdi's eyes darkened for a second before she snapped, "Why aren't you worried about yourself for once?"

_Because I don't matter._

"Rauxdi, enough! I don't have enough time left to fight with you," I replied as I held my hands out in front of me. The light drifted from the sea glass pendant and the book Xigbar gave me appeared in my hands.

"Xigbar said you needed this. He said that because your his... apprentice, that you needed to hold onto this for him," I explained softly as Rauxdi's hands hovered over the book. As she placed her hand on the cover, the book exploded into tiny lights and were absorbed into Rauxdi's heart.

Rauxdi gasped for a second before she put her head into her hands and let out a painful cry. The second I went to soothe her, the crying stopped. Rauxdi slowly lifted her face from her hands as she looked up at me with wide eyes.

I held my breath as I saw her eyes were now deep blue with the heart-shaped sigil crossed over her pupils.

"Rauxdi..." I said softly as she slowly straightened herself up with a genuine smile crossing her tear-stained face.

"This... is a lot to process," Rauxdi said for a second as her eyes shifted back to a dull gold as I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sorry, I'm just talking out loud now. Now get going, I know you have more work to do," Rauxdi said poking me in the forehead as I smiled realizing that she was going to be okay. Even if it took a long time for her to heal, she knew she was free from her worries about me.

* * *

I held my breath as I floated through the darkness. I could see what looked like the Land of Departure ahead of me but I was struggling to reach it.

_It's like I'm being blocked out of his heart_, I thought to myself as I felt the sea glass charm on my arm starting to react. I glanced to the side to see the charm was glowing a bright purple light before I whipped my head up to see a golden-orange hue surrounding Land of Departure.

My body started to glow in the same light as warm flames licked my body and gave me courage.

"One last push," I said to myself as I raced towards the next Heart.

A blinding light transported me to the Great Hall inside of the castle. I looked around to see that it was dusk from how dark the room was.

"Terra!" I screamed from the deepest part of my heart as I took off and ran down the staircase.

_Please be here..._

I found myself being drawn towards the main courtyard as I shoved the main doors open to see Terra standing in the middle of the Forecourt with his back turned towards me. I could see he was standing there not in his armor, but in the outfit he was wearing when I went to the train station with Xemnas.

I ran up to him from the staircase as I tried to shout for his attention, not moving a muscle as I got near.

"Terra! I need to talk to you," I said grabbing his wrist with a smile on my face. My expression dropped as I looked to see Terra's eyes were closed and his head bowed down.

"...Is it because you found out?"

I felt uneasiness sit in my stomach as I went around and faced Terra head-on. His eyes fluttered open as I could see the guilt wash over his eyes.

"I... Yes, I did. I heard what happened to Rauxdi," I said quietly, realizing that this conversation was going in the complete opposite that I was expecting it to go.

"I'm so sorry Audri, if only I was stronger... None of this would have happened," Terra said with a harsh whisper as I grabbed his hands tightly.

"It's not your fault Terra, there's no way you could have-"

"But maybe I could have! I can't believe I let him do all those horrible things to her. Even you... Your face has..."

I could feel the wind picking up as I noticed a similar storm to Rauxdi's heart was starting to gather around us. I gritted my teeth before I brought my hands up and quickly slapped Terra's face from both sides as I cupped his face.

The stinging shock seemed to snap him out of it for a moment as the weather around up seemed to freeze in time.

I held his face in my hands as I felt the warmth escaping my body, "Don't beat yourself up because of what Xehanort did. I'm okay, these scars are my mistakes. Terra, we're going to set this right. Believe in me, you have so far."

Terra's eyes flickered with doubt as I looked up at him with a determined look in my eyes. Terra's eyes softened, realizing that I was being sincere before he nodded. A sudden thought raced through his mind in surprise now that the sadness is not clouding his judgment.

"Wait, why are you here now? Aren't you trying to escape?"

I nodded before I sighed, "I don't think I'm going to be seeing you like this for a while."

The look on Terra's face had one of hurt as he looked downcast, "Oh, I see..."

"But not because of what happened to Rauxdi! Believe me, I fucked up bad. The Organization is on to me, so I don't think I can get as close to you again like this," I said as I felt my hands trembling as all the warmth started to disappear from my body.

_What's going on? Something doesn't feel right_, I thought to myself as Terra nodded in understanding of the situation I put myself in.

"I promise I'm still breaking you free from Xehanort's grasp, it's just going to take some time. So, please believe in me Terra."

"So that's what your plan was."

I felt my body being washed over by a cold wave of darkness as I felt Terra being pushed back from me from a massive gust of wind. I looked around to see darkness pooling around my feet as Shadow Heartless started to appear on the surface.

I started to step forward and tried to reach out a hand to Terra before I felt myself being pulled back with my wrist caught in a gloved hand.

I could see the look on Terra's face go from fear to anger as he summoned his keyblade. "How did you get here?!" Terra snarled, standing with a defensive stance as the man behind me smirked tilting my face back while the shadows licked at my body.

My eyes widened as I saw Xemnas' amber eyes flicker with malice. "I followed the trail left behind by my dear Heartless and found my way into your useless heart," Xemnas explained coldly as his gaze returned to Terra.

"Let her go Xemnas!" Terra demanded as he held his keyblade out ready to attack. Xemnas smirked as the dark tendrils around him started to spread out across the ground encasing the three of us in a forcefield. 

"You know she can't stay here in your heart. I'm just taking her back with me," Xemnas retorted as his gloved hand held my wrist tightly. I could feel my vision getting blurry all of the sudden from the waves of energy slipping out of my body.

"If you didn't fall to darkness all those years ago, I wouldn't have brought Audri into all of this," Xemnas said with a smirk as he brushed loose strands of hair from my face as I was propped up by the Nobody for support.

Those words struck a cord with Terra as he charged forward with a shout as he lunged at Xemnas with his keyblade in hand. Xemnas took the opportunity to summon an ethereal blade in one hand and defended the attack, having the blade in hand interlock with Terra's keyblade right in front of my face.

"Why are you trying to fight for a creature of darkness? Haven't you learned anything after being deceived all those years ago," Xemnas asked the young keyblade wielder as he glanced down at my hostage form between Xemnas' body and the blades locked in combat.

Terra gritted his teeth as I suddenly reached my hand up and grabbed Xemnas' ethereal blade, trying to wedge Terra's keyblade free. "Xemnas, Terra... Please stop. I..." Xemnas raised a curious expression to the words leaving my mouth before realizing that my hands were burning from his blade as I tried to creep my hand towards Terra's keyblade.

_Is she-_

Xemnas' thoughts were quickly dismissed as he quickly unhanded me, shoving me to the side and brought his second ethereal blade out and swiped at Terra. Terra jumped back in a defensive stance before glancing up to see me crumpled onto the ground in a pile, barely moving at all, and Xemnas hovering not far behind with a dominating aura.

I felt my fingers twitch for a second before I slowly raised my head looking between the two men. I immediately noticed Xemnas' gaze was piercing through my soul as he looked down at me like another obstacle in his path. I whimpered for a moment before I turned away and looked over at Terra. The look on Terra's face was fierce, but I knew that he couldn't stop Xemnas with be holding him back. I shook my head as I made my decision.

"Terra!"

I scrambled to my feet, taking a few steps forward before taking off into a full-on sprint towards the keyblade wielder. Terra took a second to realize that Xemnas was back in pursuit. Terra bounced forward from the balls of his feet to reach me in the middle of the forecourt.

As Xemnas bolted forward with Ethereal blade in both hands, Terra quickly pulled me into a defensive embrace, acting a shield as he took the brute hit from Xemnas' ethereal blades, interlocking his keyblade again in the midst of the attacks.

I glanced back from the crook of Terra's shoulder as I could feel the weight of darkness and light filling the battlefield with striking force. I clung onto his shirt and suspenders with one hand and grabbed onto the teal hilt of Terra's keyblade with the other, glaring up Xemnas with a primal growl coming from my throat.

Xemnas noticed the flicker of defiance in my eyes before I spoke up with a deep orange glow surrounding the three of us, "I'll be taking a souvenir back."

* * *

My eyes snapped open as I found myself lying on the floor inside the Old Mansion.

_Was that some sort of twisted dream?_ I thought to myself as I placed my hand over my heart. I realized that I was still in the clothes that I picked up this morning.

"No... Xemnas! He was..." I trailed off before I scrambling to my feet about to make a run for the entrance of the Mansion before a dark corridor opened in front of me.

I froze in my tracks as Xemnas appeared from the portal as it closed behind him. "Where are the others?" I barked out as Xemnas glanced at the door behind him. "They're still out in the clearing, they should be awaking any time soon," He said softly before he stepped towards me.

I was about to take a step back but Xemnas reached me and grabbed the back of my neck forcing me to look up at him.

"You know it is a futile effort to try and break Xehanort's hold over Terra. And your little 'souvenir' is not going to help you out," He said as I tried to hold my tongue.

"What do you plan to achieve by setting the keyblade wielder's heart free?"

"Why can't I help someone? You all... Xehanort ruined his life!" I asked as I looked up at the Superior Nobody. He looked like he wanted to say something but he held back before speaking up again.

"A creature of darkness, such as yourself, does not have a place to live in the light," Xemnas said as his hand moved from the base of my neck to brush the hair from the side of my face in a soothing way.

I grabbed his gloved hand as I pulled it away from my face, my eyes darkened to a molten gold hue, "I don't care about that. This isn't about me!"

"Then what is-" Xemnas' words were cut off as a light shined between us as a luminous orange glow surrounded around the Earthshaker keyblade summoned into my left hand. I closed my eyes tightly as I could feel the warmth of Terra's power washing over me from the keyblade in my grasp.

_How ironic, a Heartless using the reflection of a keyblade from a lost heart... To fight against the darkness._

_This is suicide at its finest hour_, I thought to myself as I opened my eyes as a flicker of light came from the purple charm wrapped around my arm.

"What if I made a deal with you Xemnas? A heart for..."

* * *

Rauxdi groaned as she rolled off her back and sprung back to her feet. She could see Demyx rushing over to her as Xigbar was fighting back against Terra-Xehanort and the Guardian Heartless.

"Demyx? Where's..." Rauxdi's words got caught in her throat as Demyx shook his head, "I don't know. When I woke up, Xemnas and Audri were gone. I can still feel their signatures in the Mansion though." Rauxdi nodded as she started to walk forward, about to join Xigbar in battle.

"Wait." Demyx's hand grasped Rauxdi's shoulder, causing her to stumble back before she turned to glare at him. "Audri should be our priority in finding her. If we go up against Xemnas..." His voice started to trail off as Rauxdi sighed in annoyance.

"Right..." Rauxdi said as she felt two dark corridors open up behind the two of them. "Well, it looks like we have some intruders trying to break out our Heartless girl," Vanitas said with a grin as he stepped out of the corridor with his Chaos Void ready for action.

"You fools don't know what you are doing," Ansem spoke up as he stepped out and stood right next to Vanitas glaring down at Demyx and Rauxdi.

_Well shit, this is turning out to be a bigger clusterfuck that I wanted it to be_, Rauxdi thought to herself as Demyx and her backed up close enough that they were just on the edge of stepping into Xigbar's fight.

"What do we do Raux?" Demyx asked as Rauxdi held onto the Nobody's sleeve trying to think up of a plan.

"I guess we have no choice but to fight," Rauxdi started to summon her weapon but a dark corridor opened up in front of them and Xemnas stepped through, his back turned to the two Nobodies.

"Hey Xemnas, we were just about to-" Vanitas jumped back when Xemnas lunged forward with his ethereal blades out and attacking the young Keyblade wielder.

"What are you doing Xemnas?!" Ansem barked out before he dodged Xemnas' next attack directed at him.

"I don't know what happening but let's get going!" Demyx shouted in fear as Rauxdi stood there unsure of what to make of this turn of events.

Her attention was snapped back to the situation behind her as a screeching roar erupted out of nowhere and Terra-Xehanort went flying past her. He ended up hitting Ansem and taking him down in the fall.

"Hey you guys, let's get the fuck out of here!" Audri's voice rang through the air as Rauxdi and Demyx turned around to see Dark Hide and Audri standing there at the gated entrance.

They both looked at each other and made a break for the mansion as Xigbar teleported the four of them back inside to the Computer Room.

* * *

I stood out in the alleyway in Traverse Town as I could hear Xigbar and Rauxdi arguing in the hotel room behind me. I just sighed as I placed my hand over my heart as I could feel a lingering pain over my heart.

_This is going to get some getting used to,_ I thought to myself as I adjusted my clothes and zipped the vest up so I was covered up. I turned back around and stepped back into the hotel room to find Rauxdi had just stomped out the door, leaving Xigbar by himself.

He glanced over in my direction and smiled, "How does it feel to be back in the real world?" I just shrugged before forcing a smile to my face, "A little tiring, feels like I've been sleeping for ages."

He just chuckled before coming over and ruffling my hair, "Well Rauxdi is glad, even if she was just yelling at me." I nodded before I glanced over at the door Rauxdi left through.

"Hey Xigbar? If it's not too much to ask... Can you make sure my plants get tended to and the Possessor is released from the shop?" I asked looking up at the Freeshooter as a smirk crossed his face. "I guess you made up your mind then?" He asked as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Well, I can't go back there since the Organization will be out looking to destroy me."

Xigbar nods as he waves his hand in the air, "Go do what you need to then. See you on the flipside kiddo." A dark corridor opened up behind me as I smiled giving Xigbar a quick side hug before stepping through the portal.


	22. Heartless Monsters

I sighed as I tapped my foot impatiently as I stood in front of the old ruins in Radiant Gardens. "Geez, how am I going to explain it to Ienzo that I lost my phone?" I mumbled under my breath before kicking my feet against the loose gravel.

"Screw it, he can probably get me something to replace it since I can't have the rest of the Organization tracking me anyways," I said out loud to myself as I walked up to the gated walls. I could see Dilan in the distance as he held his lance in hand.

"Ahoy Dilan!" I called out as I ran up to catch his attention. He looked at me in surprise as he gripped his lance in hand, "Nice to see you use the front door this time. Surprised to see you around these parts after your last visit, Audri." I laughed nervously remembering that I almost knocked a few pipes loose on a temper tantrum after my meeting with Rauxdi.

"Hey, it's only been a few weeks since I was here! Is Ienzo in right now?" I asked gesturing to the door behind him as Dilan nodded, "He has another meeting right now, but I don't see why you can't go on in. Still remember the layout?"

"Of course. I'll see you around Dilan," I smiled giving the guardsman a wave farewell as I stepped through the lab corridors.

After a few minutes, I made my way to the main study where Ienzo and the others were sleeping. I sighed as I walked around the desk and glanced down softly at the portrait of the young Terra-Xehanort. I brushed my hand along the frame before I heard some voices shouting in concern at the end of the hallway.

_Dilan did mention Ienzo did have another meeting... I guess I could go take a peek_, I said with a grin as I stepped towards the hidden hallway towards the computers. As I hummed walking along the path, I could hear Ienzo's voice ringing down the corridor.

"...about the replicas from his time as Vexen in the Organization," Ienzo spoke in a somber tone as I knocked on the wall by the entrance announcing my arrival.

"Hey Ienzo! Care to fix me up with a new phone? I lost mine when I got taken hosta..." I looked up and came to a dead stop as I saw Ienzo, Aeleus, Riku, and King Mickey standing there looking at me.

"You again?!" Riku barked as he summoned his keyblade as I felt a sudden pain inflicted on the scars covering my face. "Hey, easy with the hostility you brat! My skin burns the closer I get to those damn things!" I snarled as I brought my hand up over my scars to ease the pain.

"Riku, it's alright. She might be a nuisance, but she means no harm," Ienzo said placing his hand on the youth's shoulders as Riku glanced back at Ienzo and Aeleus with surprise. Riku glanced back at me as I found myself pressed up against the wall like a cornered wolf. The keyblade master just sighed before his keyblade dissipated into thin air.

I let out a deep breath before I walked over ruffling Riku's hair, "Nice lapdog. Just look pretty and let the grown-ups talk." I grinned in satisfaction to see the embarrassed look on Riku's face as Mickey looked at me in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"What, I can't visit old friends and ask for a favor?" I asked as Ienzo sighed, "Whatever you need I can try to help you with after I talk with Riku and the King."

"Is this about the replicas?" The look on Ienzo's face said it all as I sighed leaning against the computer's mainframe, "Your voice is louder than you think Ienzo; I can hear your conversation down the hallway when I came in."

"What do you know about the replicas?" Riku asked as I arched an eyebrow in his direction. "Not enough to care, but powerful enough to destroy one. Why do you two need to know?" I shot the question back at them as Ienzo stepped forward with surprise.

"What do you mean you destroyed a replica?"

I rolled my eyes before I flicked my right hand out until it formed a Pureblood Heartless' arm, "I was being used as a test drive for their latest replicas. Now that I think about it..." The darkness dissipated from my arm as I glanced over at Riku.

_The replica I crushed to death does look like a younger version of the brat here... I'll have to figure out why later_, I thought to myself as Mickey looked worried.

"Does that mean Even is back with Organization XIII?" The mouse asked as I nodded, "It's been a few months, but I haven't seen Vexen in a while. I know he's still kicking if he's healing my wounds after I get the shit beaten out of me."

Everyone exchanged looked between each other before looking at me. "Audri, are you okay?" Ienzo finally asked as I scratched the inside of my arm with my nails.

"Yes, of course, I'm fine! So dandy to have my _favorite_ keyblade masters visiting my former coworkers on the same day I need some information!" I said with my voice going up a pitch as Aeleus crossed his arms, "Your sarcasm needs some work."

I gave the Silent Hero a thumbs up as Mickey glanced over at Riku. "We... should be on our way, gotta let Sora and the others know what we know about the Organization using replicas," He commented as I pushed myself off the wall and standing in the doorway blocking them.

"Before you go you two, why do you need to know about the replicas? I'm very curious," I asked as Riku clenched his fists like he was this close to having a throw down with me.

"Sora asked us if we could use a replica to bring Roxas back," Mickey explained as I snorted shaking my head, "He's still trying to bring Roxas back? Oh, what a goose chase that sounds..." "What do you know about it?" Riku asked as he stepped towards me before we were both at eye level.

I smiled as I prodded Riku's chest where his heart would be with my finger, "He asked for my advice. But from the looks of it, he ignored it and is following his heart. Gotta hand it to your friends, they really know what motivates them." Riku swiped my hand away as I sighed running my fingers through my hair.

_Right, if I wanna be a good guy, I gotta stop antagonizing my future allies._

Mickey and Riku both walked past me as they exited the main computer room. I glanced back at the two keyblade masters as I let out a deep sigh. "Right then Audri, what did you need again?" I heard Ienzo's voice coming from behind me, forcing me to smile as I turned around, "I need a new phone."

Ienzo sighed as he went over to the computer and started punching in code. "Why did you have to do that?" Ienzo asked as I walked over placing my hand down next to the keyboard, "Do what?"

"Antagonize Riku. I mean, me and Aeleus both have had our... past run-ins with Riku, but we call it water under the bridge," Ienzo explained as a beam came out from the computer interface behind us. A new black and gold Gummiphone appeared from the end of the beam as Ienzo pulled it from the light interface.

I just shrugged with a smile as I tried to crack my back, "He's too strict for a Keyblade Master. Always swinging his weapon around, someone is going to lose an eye because of it. Besides, not like I plan to make the best impression of myself to please him."

Ienzo just shook his head as Aeleus started making his way back towards the entrance to return to guard duty and make sure Riku and Mickey got out just fine.

"Well, here's a new phone for you," The young scientist said as I reached my hand out before he held it back, "But you have to tell me what happened to you. Demyx came running through Radiant Gardens a few weeks ago like a rabid chicken looking for you."

I dropped my hand before crossing my arms over my chest, "It's a _little_ complicated. The only thing you should know is that the Organization is pissed and I plan to help those keyblade brats out!" Ienzo raised an eyebrow at me before handing over the Gummiphone, "I am curious to see you be 'good' for once."

"But I am a good girl!" I pouted as Ienzo rolled his eyes, "Please never take Xigbar's creepy nicknames to heart." I beamed with excitement as I booted up the phone as Ienzo glanced at me from the side before coughing loud enough to be forced. I looked up at him before a grin came to my face.

"Yes yes, I'll tell you where Sora is heading next and give you my number," The former Illusionist said as I handed the Gummiphone back to him.

* * *

"You... I can't believe you kicked my ass like that!"

"I can't believe you didn't fend him off better."

"He is the stronger version of Master Xehanort, so how are you not-"

"Enough!" Vexen slammed his clipboard down onto the table as potions shattered from the force as three of the four injured individuals in front of him flinched. Xemnas remained calm and stoic in front of his former colleague's behavior.

He also did not seem to be affected by the chilling temperatures of the room they were occupying as Vexen tended to their wounds. With his coat slung over his shoulder as he had a gauze wrapped around his abdomen.

Vanitas was still a little fucker with a temper after what happened inside the Twilight Town date scape. Terra-Xehanort and Ansem were getting up from their chairs to talk on another side of the room as they tried to avoid Vexen's lecturing.

Xemnas flexed his ungloved hands for a moment, as they twitched like it was to be grasping something else.

_She still knows how to surprise me. She still acts like a human, how pitiful and yet..._

Xemnas took a deep breath while the lingering pain started to ease up but Ansem came over and slapped him on the back of the shoulder, "You better be proud of yourself. Letting Audri escape out of the datascape... I seriously don't know what you were thinking."

Xemnas glanced up at the Heartless men before a devious smirk appeared, "She'll play her part."

Ansem raised an eyebrow at the Nobody before Young Xehanort slammed the doors open to the room and stepped inside. Vexen was about to scold the young man but decided against it after seeing the furious look he was giving his patients.

"As much as I would like an explanation for... well, all of this. I won't ask because you idiots are just wasting my time," Young Xehanort said as he crossed his arms over his chest as Vanitas glared and stomped towards the young silver-haired boy, "Your damn Nobody-"

Vanitas was picked up from the front of his bodysuit and tossed back onto the floor, hitting a few chairs as he slid. "I said I don't care. The Heartless bitch is the least of my worries." Young Xehanort glared down at the Unversed child before turned around.

"You will be heading to Monstropolis. There was a sighting of Sora there with his friends. I assume it's your turn to shine and take back what's truly yours from him. The rest of you are dismissed to your other duties," Young Xehanort explained before he opened a corridor and disappeared.

"Tch, even as a kid, he's still a jackass," Vanitas said as he summoned himself a corridor and left. Ansem and Terra-Xehanort looked like they were going to harass Xemnas some more but with Vexen still standing there, they decided to leave without another word.

Vexen glanced over at Xemnas with an exasperated sigh before turning his attention away from his former Superior, "As curious I am to hear your reasonings for saving Audri, I will not pursue answers."

* * *

I felt my feet touch the ground with grace as I landed on cold concrete with my shoes touched down on the ground. I could feel waves of darkness coming out of me as I glanced at my appearance. Nothing was changed in any way what so ever. I just shrugged before throwing my hands up in annoyance.

"If only it was easy to put a doggy-tracker on Sora so I can find him easily," I sighed as I made my way towards the looming warehouse labeled 'we scare because we care'. As I walked towards the entrance, I stopped for a second as I could feel a twisted feeling in my gut as I felt something coming out from behind me.

As I looked back slowly, I came face to face with a massive group of blue and neon-colored monsters. The small blue creatures had pointed red eyes and they moved around like Heartless but more violently. I started to slowly make my way back, hoping that I'm not their target before the giant toad...turtle creature swung one of its tendrils at me.

I quickly ducked and screamed in panic as I ran inside, not wanting to fight and just find Sora. As I burst into the building and stopped in the lobby to catch my breath, I heard someone shriek in surprise.

"A h...human?! How did it get out of their door?" I heard a shrill voice pipe up as I glanced up to see a large fuzzy striped monster with orange fur drop his clipboard on the ground.

"That... is not the reaction I would have expected," I said out loud before the doors behind me shattered as the monsters from before chased me into the building. "A-and what are those guys?!" the orange monster shouted in confusion before I groaned turning around summoning my claws.

"Get out of here and find someplace safe!" I shouted to the local resident before I lunged myself at the creatures. I dodged the attack of the smaller blue creatures before I felt myself getting pummeled to the side by the turtle-toad who rammed into me with brute force.

As I went flying back and catching myself from collapsing, I heard an amused cackle coming from the ceiling rafters above me.

"I didn't expect to find you here, what a surprise for me," I heard a dark corridor open in front of me as I stood my ground before Vanitas stepped out with a smile on his face.

Vanitas waved his arm back before the creatures took a step to dissipate into the darkness. "I guess you've never seen the Unversed before, have you?" He asked with a pleased look on his face as I felt the darkness being shaken off my body.

"I've only seen reports a while ago about them, but to fight them..." I started to speak as Vanitas circled me like he was going to critique a piece of fine marble, "It really takes a lot out of you doesn't it?"

"Were you sent after me?" I asked as Vanitas snorted. "The whole world doesn't revolve around you princess. I'm here on a different matter related to Sora."

_Least I know that we're on the same track of finding him_, I thought to myself as I raised an eyebrow before Vanitas stopped to face me. "I wonder if you got orders from Master Xehanort, or if you're here on a different matter..." The Unversed monster asked as I took a step forward and jabbing my finger into his chest.

"Back off Vanitas. Sora is mine," A primal growl forced its way from my chest like a warning call to predators to not mess with them. Vanitas' eyes flickered with joy as he grabbed my hand pulling me towards him, "Oh ho, now we're talking princess! How about a little race?"

"Sounds sleazy coming from you," I said in a bitter tone while the boy rolled his eyes. "Race to find Sora first gets to have him for their mission," Vanitas explained as darkness shifted over as a reflective helmet was now covering Vanitas' face. I swiped my hand from his grip as I raised an eyebrow, "How can I trust you?"

I could swear I could imagine Vanitas smirking as he spoke, "You can't. But I'll give you a two-minute head start because you'll be terrible at this. Besides Sora won't be able to function while I'm through with him!"

A deep wave of anxiety washed over my body as I turned around and bolted down the corridor behind me and through the perilous workshops of Monstropolis.

* * *

As I stepped out of a corridor and found myself on the top of a ledge overlooking a factory floor with doors flying past me, I glanced down to see a group of monsters and a human child being harassed by a purple lizard.

I just sat on the ledge curious about the scene, wondering if this was something involving world order and why they're not afraid of the small human child.

"Didn't you learn your lesson with that pile-of-junk fiasco?" A monster with one big eye on his tiny green body said out loud as the purple lizard looked satisfied. "Oh, I learned a lot." As the lizard took its leave with a stage left exit, I watched as the green monster friend seemed to walk towards the metal contraption in front of me.

A sudden wave of nervousness hit me as I felt my heart throb in pain. I could see a bright green light omit from the machine as an Unversed Sigil appeared on the top of it.

"Oh shit," I mumbled to myself as I saw the machine starting to ooze out dark black liquid as three of the monsters standing there raced forward with a staff, shield, and keyblade in hand. Wait, a second...

"It's an Unversed!" I heard Sora's voice come out from the grey furry cat monster standing there with keyblade in hand. As the creature grew in size and started to attack, I leaped down from the ledge I was watching from. As I dropped down, I cast a darkness-based shadow volley at the Unversed, slashing at its head as it screeched.

As it howled, I covered my ears as it all sounded like cries of pain were being released from it. _Vanitas, what in the world is this monster_... I thought to myself as I saw an ice attack burst through the other side of the Unversed.

I dodged the next few attacks of what looked like a sludge bomb as I found myself crashing into a blue duck-shaped monster who hit me on the head with his staff, "Hey, watch it you-"

"Audri? What are you doing here?" I turned around to see a green dog-like monster asking me as he shielded me from the raining sludge. "Goofy? Wait, Donald?" I asked glancing at them as they smiled. I felt a hand pull me from the group as Sora held onto my arm in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"No time to explain, let's kick this monster back into the dumpster fire he came out of!" I called out as Sora drew his keyblade out realizing that I wasn't here to fight with the trio.

As I drew the Unversed's attacks in my direction, Sora, Donald and Goofy took the advantage to attack the Unversed on all sides, making it take the slow opportunity to turn to its opponent until it was too late.

As our rounds of attacking seemed to draw it to an end, it started to screech before we were all blown back by a wave of the sludge as it splattered all over the walls and oozed into a type of twisted field of obstacles made of ink-like hands ready to attack at any given moment.

"Goofy, help me defend so Sora and Donald can get to the core!" I shouted for the green monster to come over and give me a helping hand bashing down all the ooze out of the way while Sora and Donald started to throw spells at the gigantic winged core as screams echoed off the walls.

I tried to keep myself focused but the wailing from the monster was starting to get to me as I slowly started to freeze up. "Hang in there!" I heard Goofy shout as he came over to give me a hand before I held my ground against another wave of tendrils coming towards us.

I closed my eyes tightly trying to block out the sounds before I felt my tricep starting to burn. I opened my eyes quickly as I felt an oozing hand grasping me tightly as my body started to burn in retaliation. I loud out a high-pitched screech before I felt my body flicker into the darkness as I retreated to the shadows, flying past the trio and the local residents.

_That last attack really fucking hurt. Is it because Vanitas is a keyblade wielder and the Unversed are an extension of those powers_? I thought to myself as I watched Goofy turn in confusion before Sora took down the monster as it collapsed and dissipated out of existence.

While the local residents seem to turn their attention to the purple lizard who was screaming about the Unversed's loss, I saw Sora glancing over in my direction. I could see the soft expression on the boy's face of concern before the small human child came to his side and was looking straight at me.

Unnerved, I slowly stepped out from the shadows as my body was half reconstructed from the dark abyss dissipating around my body. I leaned down to the child's level and smiled holding my hand out to her. "She's trying to get home, do you think... you can help us?" Sora's question had me look up at him as his keyblade was dismissed.

"I don't know what trouble you're causing for these folks Sora, but I'll do my best," I said with a smile as the little girl smiled putting her hands into my scarred palm, "Boo!"

* * *

"Is this supposed to happen?!" I called out clutching onto the swinging door for life as Sora and everyone else was either screaming and laughing.

"No! Someone is calling for Boo's door back to the main laugh floor!" Mike, the green one-eyed monster explained as Sully, the blue furry monster, held onto Boo tightly as they swung back and forth on her world's door.

"Now what Sora?" I called out to the grey furry keyblade monster as he was laughing, enjoying himself on the ride back through the building. "Aww, phooey. It's useless Audri," Donald said with a sigh as I hung my head in disappointment as my claws dug tightly into the door frame, knowing that I needed all the strength I had to stay alive several stories up high.

After a moment, the doors slowed down as we reached the main floor of the factory. I could feel myself gasp for air as the darkness polluting the whole room was becoming insufferable.

_Shit, that's right. I'm not alone here_, I realized in horror as the doors were placed into their vacated slots before I dropped to the ground in front of Sora and the others. I saw a hooded figure step towards us before I found Sora at my side. I immediately pushed him back as he called out to the newcomer, "Who _are_ you?"

"Gotta say, that strange facade had me fooled at first, brother." I could feel Vanitas' powers dripping off like toxic waste from his body as I raised my eyebrow at the hooded vessel.

_The hell is he..._

"Oh yeah! You were at the cathedral! And hey! Who are _you_ to call anyone strange?" Sora's voice called out as I dropped my arm, curious on what Sora was even talking about.

Donald and Goofy looked just as confused behind me as I heard them whispering.

"We haven't ever met in the flesh. I am Vanitas," Vanitas lowered his hood as he introduced himself to the trio behind me. The trio sounded shocked behind me except for Sora as he mocked the Dark Seeker, "This is the part where you spout some mumbo jumbo and disappear, right?"

"Tch. Well congratulations Audri! You found the keyblade wielder before me. What a remarkable race we had," He said with his tone dripping with sarcasm as I barked, "Sending the Unversed after me isn't considered a race, that's just your excuse to exterminate me!"

Vanitas walked around before he picked up a canister off the ground, tossing it up in the air with one hand as he spoke, "My heart is made up of one thing, and the Unversed collected enough screams and sadness from those children to reconstruct it."

"Yeah, and the whole time they were trashing our company in the process!" Mike started to protest, about to go at Vanitas before Sully picked him up and kept his friend from getting hurt. I thanked the blue hairy monster as Vanitas continued to speak.

"But, even with all this negative emotion, my heart is still incomplete. I need something else," He said with a dripping tone of venom as he dropped the cannister. I flinched as the cannister opened from one side and shot across the room, the echoes of children screams were filling the room as I clutched my head.

I glanced up from my crouched position on my knees to feel Vanitas knocking me towards the work stations with Void Gear hitting my sides. "You...behind..." I started to say before I saw Sora's back slowly turned around to see Vanitas standing before him with his keyblade pointed at the monster's chest.

"The half of me that sleeps on... inside of your heart."

"Vanitas!" Sora shouted in rage before a sudden shock washed over his face in surprise. I slowly got up as Vanitas spoke in a mocking tone, "Ventus... What a strange place to slither off to... you insignificant speck."

_Ventus?! Wasn't he Terra's... What the fuck is Vanitas talking about?_

Sora slapped his arm away and backed up, "What are you talking about?"

Vanitas just scoffed, "Oh, you wouldn't remember. When you were little..."

I slowly stood up and tried to sneak forward as he spoke.

"...You formed a special bond, with a boy named Ventus who joined with your heart."

I stopped as I heard Donald scream, "Ven?!"

"Is he sayin' that one of the missing Keyblade wielders is inside Sora's heart?" Goofy said out loud as I clenched my fist.

"How is that possible?!"

Darkness started to spread violently across the area as Vanitas started to conjure up dark energy.

"Now, you will return Ventus to me."

I saw Sora collapse to his knees before I realized that Donald and Goofy were standing in front of him, protecting him from the onslaught of Vanitas' spreading darkness.

"The King told us about this. Ventus wasn't able to defeat Vanitas," Goofy started to explain as I could see them being pushed back slowly, "They struck each other down, and then the King said that Ventus' heart never returned to him!"

_If what Vanitas and the rest of them are saying is true..._ I started to think to myself as I felt a surge of warmth flow through my body as my left hand twitched.

"You're not gonna do that to Sora. No way!" Donald shouted as they both reflected Vanitas' darkness.

I could feel the power pulsing as I suddenly dashed forward as Vanitas snarled at Sora's friends, "Stay out of this!"

Before Vanitas could throw Donald and Goofy back, I leaped between the two forces and struck Earthshaker into the ground as darkness swirled around me. A sudden wall of rock sprouted from the ground, splitting Sora, Donald, and Goofy on one side of the barrier while I was trapped with Vanitas on the other side.

Vanitas stood up straight before his helmet dissipated into the darkness as I could see his cocky smile, "I haven't seen that keyblade in a _very_ long time. How did you get it?"

"Like I'm going to answer that, so fuck off!" I snarled as I raced forward and clashed blades with Vanitas. I just relied on brute strength but Vanitas quickly took the upper hand as he side-swept me and kicked me into the side. I gritted my teeth before I slashed at the boy before shouting, "Sora, I'll come find you!"

"Wait, Audri! You..." Sora's voice slowly faded away as I yanked Vanitas by the collar and into a dark corridor with our keyblades in hand.

* * *

"What a meddling bitch," Vanitas snarled as I lied on the ground crumpled outside of Beast's Castle with Void Gear in his hand. I slowly sat up coughing up blood before slowly getting back to my feet, Earthshaker failing to come back to my aid ever since I forced Vanitas to another world away from Sora.

"Where did you get that keyblade?" He barked as he fisted the front of my shirt as I shoved him off until I was stumbling back and landing back on the ground.

The boy shook his head before he snapped his fingers, summoning a hoard of Unversed in all shapes and sizes.

"I guess I'm going to have to take you in for more questions, aren't I?" Vanitas started to say, about to unsummon his keyblade, before he jumped back and turns around to find a hooded assailant slip out from the darkness to attack him.

"You again?!" Vanitas barked out in annoyance as I pushed myself up to start fighting the barrier of Unversed surrounding me.

I suddenly felt an arm wrapped tightly around my waist as I was pulled against the assailant, barely fighting back since they seemed to be on my side.

"Get back here and fight you bastard!" Vanitas snarled, lunging forward about to attack but a shield appeared in front of us, reflecting the vessel's attack before I got pulled into a dark corridor, leaving the Unversed and Vanitas behind.

I held on tightly as the sheer cold brushed against my wounds before I felt licked cleaned by the darkness. I felt the pain in my chest starting to loosen up as I realized we were now out of the corridor.

I pushed myself off of the hooded Organization member, glancing around and realizing we were inside one of the spare bedrooms at Castle Oblivion. I was about to make a run for it, but they stepped forward to grasp my wrist tightly and pull their hood down. I felt my heart leap into my throat as Xemnas stood in front of me with a calm expression on his face.

"Xemnas... Why did... I could have taken Vanitas down myself," I glared up at the older Nobody before he let go of my wrist. Before another word was said, he held his hand up before me. I hesitated for a second before I strode forward, letting the man's hand brush against my face, nuzzling against it for warmth.

"You have not regained your strength since Twilight Town. I... want to keep you from getting further injured," Xemnas said with a tone from his voice that sounded... off.

My eyes flickered from his face to his well-toned body as I noticed that his coat looked shredded on his right side. I stepped forward and grabbed the zipper on his coat. Xemnas brought his hand up to rest on the back of my bare neck as I looked up at him, "How badly did you get injured?"

He stayed silent as I took the zipper, pulling it down ever so slowly before I felt a sudden throb in my heart as I saw the dressed wounds along his abdomen were bright red.

"For someone who is supposed to be a bodyguard, you are awful at keeping yourself safe," I said clicking my tongue against the roof of my mouth before I glanced to see a bed in the corner of the room.

"Go lie down now, I might have something to redress the wound," I started to say as Xemnas stood there, not moving a muscle. I looked up at him before my look of concern darkened to one of annoyance.

"You shouldn't-"

"_You shouldn't be worrying about me_, blah blah blah. Xemnas don't even get me started on how predictable you are," I scoffed as I shoved him towards the bed until I got him to sit down.

As I called upon a small dark corridor, I pulled out a small box of herbs and supplies I had stolen from Xigbar's hotel room back in Traverse Town.

As I placed them on the bed, I glanced at Xemnas' face before I ripped the bandage across his abdomen to remove it. His hand twitched for a second but I got no other reaction from him.

_Damn, I really wanted to see if he'd shout_, I thought to myself, kneeling down to his side as I tossed the old bandage in the garbage and continued to pour other concoctions of medical herbs and potions onto the reopened wound.

As I worked in silence, Xemnas placed his hand over his eyes as he found himself lying down on the bed to give me better access. "Which one of them gave you this wound?" I asked cautiously, making sure Xemnas didn't fall asleep on me.

"Your lover's vessel."

I felt my hands stop for a second as I snorted with laughter, which caught him by surprise. "Terra is not my lover. For crying out loud," I scowled at my Superior before I finished placing the new bandage on his wounds.

I turned back around to put everything back into the tin box as I heard the sheets rustling behind me until I felt Xemnas' forehead resting on my shoulder.

I felt his head lift for a second before he whispered in a deep, husky voice, "Then what is he to you?"

I held onto the roll of gauze tightly in my hands as my gaze dropped to the floor.

"Xemnas, he's not..."

_Not a lover, can't I help someone out without falling in love with them? _I wanted to say but I stayed silent.

"If he isn't important to you," Xemnas' voice rang through my head as I felt his arms draped over my shoulders as he pulled me against him, "Then why are you resisting me?"

_What._

Heat flared to my cheeks as I glanced up at his face, seeing an underlying smile on his face.

"I'm...!! Who says I'm resisting...!?" I asked, baffled at his question before he brought his index finger up to my lips as his hold tightened.

"Don't play coy with me. When you realized it was me, you hardened your heart from my influencing hold over you," Xemnas growled as he stroked his thumb under the bottom of my chin.

"Maybe I don't want to be your possessed doll," I retorted back as Xemnas chuckled, his hard chest vibrating against my back.

"Wouldn't you want to just... give in for a moment?" Xemnas asked as I felt his other hand linger as it brushed against the outside of my thigh.

_Even if he is the main course, I'd eat his heart out of the palm of my hands... What am I saying?!_

I shook him off, pulling away from his grasp to finish putting the supplies away. I glanced over my shoulder to see Xemnas sitting on the edge of the bed with a look of hunger flickering in his eyes.

I took a deep breathe as I stepped forward and tilted his head up with my hand before brushing my fingers through his hair, trying to get his hair back in place as his eyes scanned my face.

"I don't know if you're trying to distract me on purpose," I whispered as I leaned down to kiss him lightly on his lips. I felt the Nobody's hands grip my hips tightly, knowing he wanted to dig his fingers into my flesh.

I pulled back as those intoxicating amber eyes tried to pull me back in. I adverted my gaze before I spoke up, "Please don't trouble yourself over me. I promise to keep my end of the bargain."

"You are going to wish I was there every step of your little 'endeavor' once the others come looking for you," Xemnas stated as I brushed some strands of loose hair behind my ear.

"Understood," I said flicking my wrist up about to summon a corridor but Xemnas grasped my hand, interlacing his fingers among mine. "Stay in my presence for a little longer," Xemnas commanded as my cheeks flared with heat.

"Would it kill you to say please?" I scoffed as Xemnas pulled me towards him until I was straddling his lap while he sat on the edge of the bed. I blushed as I felt Xemnas' hands trailing up to my hips before sliding underneath my vest and tank top.

"When will you submit to me?" He growled into my ear before he placed love bites upon my neck. I whimpered as I felt my body press into Xemnas' grasp, as I felt his fingernails raking against my back, making me press my chest against his. "Why haven't you just taken me like the rest of them?" I asked quietly as I felt the calloused tips of his fingers run along my spine.

He pulled away from my neck before he rested his forehead against mine before he spoke, "I felt it was unjust to steal you away by force."

I brought my hands up to cup his face as I tried to keep my snide comments back, "You wanted to give me a choice?" Xemnas sighed before his voice vibrated from his broad chest. "I already have control of your body when it comes to loyalty towards the Organization, but I did not want to control your heart."

I just snorted for a moment before Xemnas furrowed his eyebrows. I shook my head before bringing a finger to his lips as I spoke in a snarky tone, "Lord Xemnas didn't want to control my heart even though he was building the fearsome Kingdom Hearts with the most powerful hearts? I find that hard to believe."

I paused for a second before I asked quietly, "How long ago have you thought about this all of this?" Xemnas stayed quiet for a moment before replying, "Since Castle Oblivion was abandoned. I realized that if... Sora and his friends found you, I wasn't sure what would happen."

I pursed my lips for a moment before leaning in to brush my lips against his delicately, "Were you afraid that I would be used against you?" Xemnas didn't reply but I could feel cold air hit my back as Xemnas' hands wrapped around my frame tightly, my shirt was riding up as his hands clung to my body.

"You will _never_ be used against me," Xemnas spoke with a commanding voice as his fingertips dragged across my skin, making me press into his chest again. An undistinguished moan slipped from my throat as he brushed his nose along my neck as he continued to speak, "Do you understand?"

I bit my tongue for a moment before Xemnas pressed his fingers onto my new scars along my ribs, making me jolt out a moan impulsively.

"Y...Yes Superior," I gasped before running my hands along the older man's shoulders as he pulled me back against the bed we were sitting on.

"Now, sleep my sweet Heartless."


	23. Masters and Apprentices

"Where did that bastard run off to this time," Rauxdi growled under her breath as she sat on the rooftop of the Traverse Town clocktower scanning the quiet district below her.

Even since she helped get Audri out of the datascape, Xigbar and her have been fighting a lot lately. If anything, it is more of a one-sided fight with Rauxdi yelling non-stop.

The redhead groaned as she pulled her legs up tightly to her chest as she rested her forehead on her knees.

_The more information I keep absorbing from the Book of Prophecy, the angrier I get with Xigbar_, she thought to herself as Rauxdi felt like her veins were full of light, or lux being the correct term due to the knowledge she now knows, flowing through her body at an abnormal speed. She closed her eyes tightly as she felt the pain ease for a second as she started to feel a trickle of darkness entering the world.

Rauxdi's eyes snapped open the minute she recognized the signature, as she rolled herself forward before springing off with an Aeroga spell. Her pupils dilated as she saw the dark corridor open down in the district square. She extended her arms out and tackled the person that slipped from the portal, slamming them back through the other side.

"What in the-?! ...Fuck babe, you're going to break my back and I rather break it in bed," Xigbar's voice rung through the dark corridor as Rauxdi's firey red hair swept over his face as she straddled his chest.

"We have to have this talk Xigbar," Rauxdi growled as she slowly moved her hands from his shoulders and placed them on his chest. Rauxdi was suddenly forced onto her back as Xigbar was now on top of her with a smug smirk on his face knowing how to get the upper hand. Rauxdi just rolled her eyes before he teleported both of them back into the Traverse Town hotel room.

"I know you want to ride this dick, so let's cut to the chase, shall we?" Xigbar said as he started to unzip his coat before Rauxdi grabbed his hands tightly. He looked down at her while Rauxdi looked up at him with luminous blue tears streaking down her cheeks.

"Xigbar, am I dying?"

Xigbar glanced away from her face for a second before sighing as he ran a hand up to scratch the back of his head.

"You're not dying Rauxdi, I think that there is too much information for you to absorb that it's leaking out. Kind of like a water balloon stretched at the seams," Xigbar tried to explain calmly as Rauxdi propped herself up on her elbows to look at him in horror.

"That's not any better, I'd rather be dead than feel like... like..." Rauxdi felt her words at a loss as Xigbar got off of her and stood at the end of the bed looking at her with mild sympathy. "I could name a few people you now know about, but I think the joke is too soon with how you're feeling," Xigbar said with a mumble as Rauxdi lied back on the bed groaning in frustrations.

After what felt like a few minutes of silence, Xigbar heard Rauxdi's voice ring through the air.

"Were you ever going to tell me the truth about you?"

Xigbar cocked his head to the side as he glanced down to see the dried tear stains on Rauxdi's puffy face as she rambled on, "Were you even going to tell me that everything that happened so far... That it was going to happen?"

Xigbar sighed as he pulled Rauxdi up from the bed to sit up before he kneeled in front of her, cupping her face in his gloved embrace.

"I would have told you the truth about me at any given moment, but the time was... It was never right. As for everything else... I had to let it happen, I'm here to make sure everything comes true as the book was written," Xigbar spoke softly as he leaned forward to brush light kisses all over Rauxdi's face.

Rauxdi's eyes glazed over as she looked past Xigbar's shoulder to an empty corner of the room, "So that means... No matter what I do, Audri and I..."

"You two were never supposed to be involved. Something... You two happened. You changed the story, and yet... the same fate befalls everyone," Xigbar whispered as he brought Rauxdi's gaze back to his face. Rauxdi grabbed his hand as she quickly glanced away.

"Rauxdi, believe me. Whatever power the two of you have, it's so disruptive that it could change the timeline. But I think... Fate is really trying to cut both of your strings," Xigbar said with a deepened chuckle as Rauxdi flinched. "Does that mean that from the beginning, something has triggered in the others and perhaps realizing that we aren't supposed _to be_?"

Xigbar shrugged with a smile, "Well, with Xehanort is trying so hard to keep a hold on you two, it must mean that they sense something was to happen if you two were left unchecked.."

"But what..."

Rauxdi's voice was cut off as a dark corridor opened up as Saix came in holding a medium-sized black box in his hand. "I figured I would find the two of you together," Saix sneered in annoyance as Rauxdi shook her head.

"Hey, we could have started the fun without you," Xigbar said with a cocky grin on his face as Saix placed the box next to Rauxdi on the bed, "Not now. Rauxdi, you have a mission to attend to. Before you leave..."

Rauxdi glanced at the box curiously as Xigbar raised an eyebrow, "Is it a sexy bedroom outfit to rail her in?" "You wish," Saix said with an amused smirk on his face as Rauxdi carefully took the top off. As she looked inside of the box, she immediately pulled back and put the lid back up.

"Is this..." Rauxdi started to speak before she slowly lifted the lid up again, catching Xigbar's curiosity as he leaned his head on her lap.

_To see this in person after all of the information overflowing from my heart..._

"It's a gift from Xemnas, modified by Vexen for your own use. He said to use it well," Saix said as Rauxdi carefully pulled a piece of mostly white and black armor from the box inspecting it. Rauxdi flashed a wicked smile as Xigbar's eyes got big as he inspected the rest of the contents in the box.

"Of course he did, damn bastards know how to win a lady back," Rauxdi spoke up while a glazed-over look past over her dark yellow eyes before they flickered blue.

* * *

The keyblade master sat on the sandy beaches as she watched the shifting tides in the Realm of Darkness.

Next to her, sat an older male, well into his late 40s to 50s with shoulder long hair as his hazel gaze softly looked upon the horizon. His hook from her black coat was pulled up but she could see his goatee as he turned towards her and started to speak, almost hesitant to hear her answer.

"Tell me, will you stay here?" The older man, she had learned went by the name Ansem, asked her as her sapphire gaze crossed back over the darkened waters before her. A small smile crossed her lips as she closed her eyes.

"I can't shake the feeling that these waters touch another shore I've visited," The young woman explained as she shuffled her legs so she could lace her fingers against her knees as she sat up. Something about the shifts of the sand and the darkness around them, it felt like there was something warm and familiar on the other side of the vast ocean.

"The Destiny Islands."

Her head perked up from her companion's voice as he spoke. She turned to him in surprise as she asked, "You've heard of them?"

"Yes. They are quite lovely- a far cry from this wasteland," Ansem explained as he gestured to the emptiness around them as she nodded. As she glanced back towards the water beyond her sight, she smiled, realizing that there was light at the end of this path as she responded to his earlier question, "I'm staying. Someone will come for me."

"These waters are the in-between of dark and light, its shores margin of day and night," He started to explain as he glanced over to the blue-haired woman with a sincere look, "They brought you and I together, so why not also you and another?"

"Yes," She smiled as she shifted her sitting position again, in an almost excitement as she knew someone would come for her any day now.

* * *

Many moments passed between the blonde man and the blue-haired woman as they sat on the shoreline every day, hoping for someone to come to their aid. A deep sigh came from the woman as she felt her heart was beating as loud as the crashing tides in front of her.

What she didn't know is that today would be the first day in twelve years where she would be more alert than usual.

As the woman glanced over the ocean, she found herself hearing a small unfamiliar noise coming from behind her. A noise she had not heard in a long time.

_Footsteps?_

She thought to herself in surprise, thinking she was going delusional. She shook her head before she heard the noise of crunching sand coming from a far distance behind them. She tensed up due to having nothing but Heartless in this realm and the old man to keep her company, so this was something she didn't expect.

"Who's there?" She called out, turning her head slightly, alerting Ansem sitting next to her, surprised that she could sense someone else around.

As they both turned around, they came face to face to a deeply tanned individual with sleeked back silver hair and piercing golden eyes. She was surprised that he was wearing the same coat as Ansem sitting next to her wondering if they were allies until he stood up to face the newcomer with a venomous tone, "You..."

_He must be an enemy, but something doesn't feel right about this..._ She quickly pulled herself from her thoughts and to her feet, getting into a defensive stance by the blonde older man. The silver-haired man in front of her stopped before he sighed deeply before speaking, "Master... I must have a word with you."

The keyblade master felt Ansem tense up as he pulled his hood back to reveal his face, "Master? So now you mock me." The silver-haired man took a few more steps forward towards the two of them as he continued to speak to Ansem in front of her.

"Do you recall those experiments of the heart you bade me cease? Among the test subjects was a girl. She has lost her memory, just as I had. But... you can reconstruct memories. You did with Sora. I believe you have seen the girl's memories," The mysterious man started to explain as he stopped a few feet away from Ansem.

The blue-haired keyblade wielder held her breath as she saw Ansem tense up before he spoke, "What is your question?"

"Where did you put the girl?"

"What girl?"

The mysterious man smirked as he realized that Ansem was not going to speak freely in this manner. The woman jumped with unease as she saw the silver-haired man step towards her companion, "Very well."

He took a step forward and started to reach for Ansem as he spoke, "If you won't tell me here..."

_No!_ She thought to herself as she dashed forward and slapped the newcomer's arm away from Ansem before she stepped in front of her companion with a defensive stance, "I think you should go."

As she looked up at the man's fierce golden gaze, his expression turned from annoyed to amused as he spoke, realizing who was in front of him.

"A lost guardian of light?" The words stung to her core as he chuckled for a moment before folding his arms over his chest, "You wait here... for the King and his fool." As she stood a step forward about to lunge an attack, she heard something whipping through the air at a violent speed before she realized that there was something coming from above her.

She quickly dodged out of the way before the object from the sky dropped down, sand erupting everywhere. As the Keyblade wielder grasped the situation, the mysterious man gave an odd command.

"Consume her light."

The blue-haired woman gasped as she was suddenly struck in the chest by a powerful blow from the side of the heavy object lunged at her. While she tumbled across the sandy beach, she looked up as a glint of light sparked for a second from the object in front of her.

_That isn't possible..._

She almost froze as she felt herself coming face to face with what looked like Keyblade armor. The armor was mostly white with black trimmings, almost to represent a dragoon, the helmet donned an odd insignia covering the visor as it had detailed pointed prongs curled back like a set of ram horns. From the trimmings of the armor and the breastplate, she realized in an instant that it was a woman.

As she quickly glanced away from her new opponent, she realized that the weapon she had in hand was not a Keyblade, but an ironclad lance. Before she could make any other observations, the armored figure lunges forward with the lance swung behind her before striking above her head.

She quickly dodged out of the way as she realized Ansem stood by the sidelines helpless as the mysterious figure smirked in satisfaction. She shouted as she felt the armored figure closing in on her as she shot out a blizzard spell, "I can sense light within you! Why are we fighting, aren't we on the same side?"

The spell missed its initial mark of the core of the figure as they came down, but it managed to strike them in the head. Everyone stopped for a moment as the armored figure dropped her arm, lance in her left hand as it pierced the sand. The armored woman seemed to fidget for a moment before they grabbed the bottom of the cracked helmet and ripped it off before it landed in the sand with a thud.

She held her breath as she looked at her opponent's face. A blue and gold-eyed woman stood in front of her with a fiery red mane that blew with the wind as the weather around them started to pick up dangerously. Her face turned from one of frustration to one of malice before she spoke up.

"So _you're_ Aqua, I'm pretty impressed by your record to stay clean after all this time. Where's your keyblade Ms. Master?" The redhead woman in front of her started to ask as she stepped forward, dismissing her lance as she stepped towards the woman.

"Don't need-" Aqua stopped for a moment as she realized what was starting to grow in her heart as the woman in front of her approached her.

It was fear.

"Enough with the chatter Rauxdi," The mysterious man growled as the redhead glanced back at the silver-haired man and rolled her eyes. "Tch. Fine, but let me say this," The armored Rauxdi started to say before she teleported in front of Aqua and quickly grabbed her by the neck and slammed her down into the sand, "The light in me belongs to the past, that's the end of _that_ story."

Aqua clutched Rauxdi's gloved hand as she tightly started chocking her, seeing dark spots in her vision as the feral woman in front of her had a sickening grin on her face.

"No more! I'll go," Ansem's voice rang through the air as he took a few steps towards the two women as the silver-haired man smirked, "You are wise." Aqua saw Rauxdi grit her teeth for a second as she let go of her and stepped back, about to teleport to her accomplice's side.

_This is my only chance_, Aqua thought to herself as she quickly jumped back onto her feet and was about to shoot another spell at Rauxdi. Rauxdi summoned her lance in time to take on a good amount of the spell's damage before she was stopped by something black rushing past her.

Aqua got hit by full force from the attack as she was shot back into the inky abyss past the beach and into the water. As she screamed from the pain of the hit and started to sink into the ocean, she could of sworn that she saw the pair of heterochromatic blue-gold eyes looking down at her from above the water's surface.

* * *

Rauxdi walked back to the shore as she danced along the water's surface as she made it back to land. She glanced up at Ansem as he smirked putting a hand on her shoulder, "You're learning your place again. I'm glad that you did well. I will take care of things from here."

"Yes sir," Rauxdi said with a hushed tone as she glanced to the crumpled form of the blonde man that they were to retrieve, according to Ansem's mission report. Ansem grabbed the man that he called his 'Master' and took him through a dark corridor. As Rauxdi saw them leave, she slowly made her way over to her cracked helmet lying in the sand.

When she picked it up in her hands, she sighed deeply as she stroked her fingers along the horn-shaped prongs.

_Aqua, the lost keyblade master of light... She put up a decent fight without a keyblade, and yet... _Rauxdi's thoughts were cut as she glanced back at the water's horizon.

_I don't think she expected someone else to know how to use her armor like that,_ Rauxdi thought to herself as she smirked, catching the glimpse of her reflection in the cracked visor. She tucked the helmet under her arm before she made a dark corridor back to the others to report on their task.


	24. Heartless on Ice

As I woke up hours later, I found myself brushing my fingers along Xemnas' chest. My neck and chest aching all over as I felt flustered remembering all of the love bites that Xemnas had given me the night before. 

I slowly sat up from the bed, feeling my hair loosely drape over my shoulders and exposed back as I looked upon the sleeping Nobody. I brushed my fingers through his bangs that hung around his face, although it was more like a bedhead I never expected to see.

I heard a small beeping noise coming from the tossed vest at the foot of the bed. I carefully slipped from my Superior's arms to find that I had messages blowing up on my Gummiphone from Sora and Ienzo.

**Ienzo**: I was able to contact Sora and his friends once they left the last world. I told them you want to give them advice, so I gave them your number to reach you. I'm so sorry.

**Sora**: Hi, I hope that Audri reads this message as soon as she sees this. If you're not her...

**Sora**: Well, don't read this, please!!!

**Sora**: Anyways, I hope you're okay. Thank you for helping us out with Vanitas. Did you mention something about finding us again?

**Sora**: Well, however you get there, we are landing at a new world right now.

**Sora**: Ohmygoshbringacoatit'sfreezingCAN'TUSESPACEBARHELP

I just chuckled under my breath before I glanced back at Xemnas' sleeping form, hoping that he won't be upset if I left him behind. I sighed as I pocketed the Gummiphone in my shorts, put my shirt and vest on before adjusting my clothes for the cold weather and make sure everything fit correctly.

Zipping my coat up, I placed my hand over my heart as I looked over at Xemnas with sincerity before I opened up a dark corridor.

* * *

"Oh dammit, he wasn't kidding about it freezing up here," I groaned as I pulled a heavy coat to wrap around my body. Even with tight leather pants and boots that I decided to wear, the coat left a small gap that cold air was still drifting along my entire body.

As I trudged through the snowstorm along the side of the mountain, I could have sworn I saw some figures down the hillside. I squinted for a second to see wisps of color through the snowstorm. Frustrated that I couldn't see from my position, I started to make my way slowly down.

After a few minutes, I came down to a clearing to see four figures standing out against the snowy background. My eyes lit up immediately as I recognized Sora, Donald, and Goofy as they talked to a platinum blonde woman dressed in royal purple and teal. As I raced forward, I could see a Winterhorn Heartless appear behind the trio.

"Wait, stop right there!" I called out holding my hand out, hoping that I can control the Heartless from ceasing its attack. As the Heartless took a step back, it immediately broke free from my control and launched itself at the group.

"Look out!" The blonde woman shouted as she shot a burst of ice at the Heartless, completely disposing of it before it caused any harm. I stood in my tracks heavy breathing as I looked down at my hands trembling.

_Why couldn't I stop that Heartless? I should be able to control it at the same level as Ansem does with other artificial Heartless. Does this mean... I'm losing strength because of my fluctuating path with darkness?_

My brain started going a million miles an hour as I tried to come up with a conclusive answer. I clenched my teeth as the wind picked up again, blowing violently to a point that I was brought out of my thoughts and decided to worry about this later.

"...You should head home before it gets any worse." I could hear Sora's voice speaking to the woman as I slowly my traction as I got closer to them.

The woman turned around as she spoke, "This is my home now. I can't go back. I don't want to hurt anyone"

"What?" I stopped as Sora asked in confusion. I could hear the hurt in his voice as he spoke.

"Arandelle is safer with me staying up here," The woman turned back around with a response as her eyes looked downcast. She glanced up for a second, making eye contact with me in surprise before she turned away, walking back up the mountain trail.

Sora seemed worked up as he tried to reach out to the woman, "Not safer for you!" I could hear the faint magic being used through the air as I hear it crackling from the woman's footsteps.

"Sora!" I shouted, running behind him and pulling him back as a massive ice wall shot up from the snow, blocking the pathway up the mountainside. He was probably more shocked about the ice wall than realizing I was there.

"Audri? When did you..." Donald started to speak as my gaze drifted over to Sora, seeing how sad he was.

"Elsa..." Sora said as he pressed his hands onto the ice wall in front of him. I glanced back at Donald and Goofy, hoping for some reassurance on what was happening. Luckily Goofy stepped in as he spoke, "Aw, don't worry, she'll be okay. Seems like she's pretty strong."

Donald spoke up too as he went to they keyblade wielder's side, "You gotta let her go. She wants to be alone."

"Yeah, I hear you... but I just wanted to know why she was so sad," Sora said in defeat as I crossed my arms over my chest, having literally no input for this conversation.

In fact, I felt like I was in this woman's shoes right now because I'm on the run from the Organization. It's like I placed a target on my back just to keep everyone else safe while I run and cause trouble.

"And how is it any of your business? Read the room, kiddo." My ears perked up as I turned back to see Larxene standing there with her hands on her hips.

I could feel Sora and his friends get in a defensive position as they realized her presence. "Who are you? That's... the Organization coat. You new?" Sora asked as I raised an eyebrow at him, realizing that I needed to get filled in with what Sora knew about the Organization again.

Larxene looked shocked as she spoke, "Excuse me? Oh yeah, you forgot."

_He... Forgot? Okay, I definitely need some clarification._

"The name's Larxene. This time, remember," Larxene said before she smirked, "And we'll take care of Elsa, so don't you worry."

I glanced back to see Sora having a side conversation with Donald and Goofy.

"Well, she seems to think she knows us, so maybe we should play along." Goofy said loud enough for me to hear as I snorted, realizing that this was something I would have never expected.

"Not unless her name's 'Terra'." Sora's words struck a chord in my heart.

_I don't think I should tell them about Terra just yet_, I thought to myself as I saw Larxene getting impatient. "Excuse me! I'm right here?"

The trio got back into a defensive position as Sora asked questions again. "Why are you after Elsa?"

Larxene smirked as her eyes rested on the four of us. "No one's gonna hurt her. But we're not about to put up with _your_ meddling. Stay here and behave yourselves."

Larxene suddenly shot out a thunder spell at the ice wall behind us and as the pieces started cracking, they started dropping around us.

"Wait. The ice!"

"It's going to wall us in!"

"Ice is so not my style," Larxene commented as she glanced at us as the ice boulders kept piling higher and higher around us.

I ground my teeth as I started to charge forward, "Larxene!"

Before Larxene was cut from my view, a dark corridor opened up and a gloved hand immediately pulled me through the darkness.

* * *

I closed my eyes before I realized that I was someplace warmer. Warmer to the point that I started to sweat under all of the heavy layers.

"Audri, what a surprise." I opened up eyes to find myself facing Marluxia and Larxene standing in front of me as we stood in a forest clearing with flowers everywhere.

"Marluxia, Larxene..." I started to say as Larxene stepped forward and jabbed a finger at my chest, "What in the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I-"

"Not answering messages or calls for over a month? Everyone thought that you died, and suddenly Vanitas is telling everyone you sided with Sora and his gang of twerps?" Larxene continued to jab my chest until I grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Can't I get a word in?! Listen! I..." I bit down on my tongue as I looked between the two of them. What have the others told them about her? From the sounds of it, not much since they want to keep their plans of beating me within an inch of life under wraps.

"The last I saw you was after we heard Rauxdi was found safe. You disappeared with no trace after that. It would be nice to get an explanation," Marluxia explained as I took a deep breath, realizing that they were in the dark with the entire situation.

"Well, I lost my phone and I got on Master Xehanort's bad side. He started using me for some type of test. Instead, I rebelled and well... Now I'm helping Sora to piss the old man off?" I said as I shrugged my shoulders. They both looked at me and sighed. It's not like I'm telling a lie, it's just half the truth.

"But seriously, how long do you plan to keep the charade up?"

I blinked as Marluxia spoke up with slight concern in his eyes. "I... I don't know."

Larxene just scoffed. "What do you mean you don't know? I can teach you how to backstab someone if you really need the hel-"

"It's not that!" I shouted as they looked alarmed for a second before exchanging looks between me.

"It's complicated, but I made a deal with Xemnas. I get to do what I set out to do for myself before I... I do some stuff on Xemnas' end of the bargain," I said, shifting my gaze to the rolling clouds above us as Marluxia raised an eyebrow.

"You aren't becoming a prostitute for freedom, are you?" Larxene asked as I felt my face get hot in an instant. "It's not about fucking Xemnas! That's for sure," I said as I started to strip the heavy winter coat and open up the leather vest.

Larxene smirked at my reaction before something caught Marluxia's eye. He took a few steps forward with his stride and immediately peered down and pulled my tank top down a few inches to show the top of my breasts.

"What are you-" I started to shout before I saw the look on Marluxia's face.

"A Recusant's Sigil?" He asked loud enough for Larxene to hear that I slapped his hand away and zipped the vest back up to cover my chest. Marluxia and Larxene looked at me as I felt myself standing there in the most uncomfortable situation ever.

"What type of bargain did you make with Xemnas?" Marluxia asked as I noticed the looks on their faces were now full of worry. I shook my head before crossing my arms across my chest, "Answer my question first and I'll answer yours."

They nodded as I spoke up, "I just saw Larxene interact with Sora and his friends. Why doesn't he remember meeting her? Didn't he... Wait, wasn't he the reason that you were all obliterated in Castle Oblivion?"

"It's a long story, but we were able to use Namine's powers to take apart his memory. Originally, we were planning a coup and having Sora as a tank to take out Xemnas," Larxene explained as I raised an eyebrow.

"We turned him against his friends the further they traversed into the castle as we implanted false memories, but..."

"Let me guess, the power of friendship and his heart kicked the hell out of y'all?" I asked with a cheesy grin on my face as Marluxia placed a hand on his chin, "More or less. We don't know the full story about what happened with his memories afterward, but I assume that answer lies with Namine, who became whole with Kairi last year."

"I... see," I mumbled to myself, making a mental note to ask Kairi about Namine the next chance I see her.

"Now an answer for an answer, what type of deal did you make with Xemnas?" Larxene asked as she seemed a little irritated that I was stalling in telling them the truth. A small smile graced my lips as I placed my hand over my throat, brushing my fingers along the visible love bites from Xemnas.

"A heart for a heart."

* * *

I stepped out of the dark corridor with Marluxia and Larxene's conversation swimming through my head. Telling them the details about the bargain made me worry this was going to bite me in the ass in the future.

As much as I wanted to go back and help Sora out with the snow queen, I decided against it and I could join him at the next world instead.

I felt sleep starting to come over me as I walked along the golden brick roads of Twilight Town.

_Maybe I should go get a bite before I go pick up more supplies from my apartment_, I thought to myself as I turned the corridor and made my way to the open courtyard of Le Grand Bistrot.

I lifted my eyes to the restaurant, hoping to see a bustling and lively scenario full of hungry patrons. Instead, a sudden cold chill shot through my bloodstream as I saw that everyone was frozen in place. I raced on over as my heart started to bubble in panic as I saw the freeze-frame on people's faces like they didn't know what was going on.

_It's like time stopped out of the- Oh no_, I pulled myself out of my thoughts, immediately realizing there is only one person who would have this type of power. I turned around and quickly harnessed as much dark energy I could to form claws, trying to stay on the defensive.

"I know it's _you_! What the hell do you want?" I called out, hoping that the individual would slink out of the shadows and not put up a fight. "Well, you catch on fast," I heard the chilling voice coming from behind me as I felt someone place a hand on my shoulder with a featherlight touch.

I slinked forward and spun around to come face to face with Young Xehanort as he placed his hand on his chin with a smug smile crossing his face.

"What do you want?" Young Xehanort asked as I stood there trying to keep myself from lunging at the bastard who destroyed Rauxdi behind my back.

"I should be asking you that," I growled as he shook his head. "To bring the world to a new era and complete the X-blade," Young Xehanort said as he took a few steps towards me.

"I heard of Xemnas covering for your escape, and I have not punished him yet due to being a trusted advisary. But I would like to know from the woman he helped, on what you offered him in exchange for his help," He continued to speak as I felt my hands twitching at the impulse of wanting to choke him when he was in range.

Young Xehanort teleported within a blink of an eye, putting me on edge before I found my arm pulled behind me and yanked into a locked position. "You-"

I started to speak as Young Xehanort chuckled into my ear, "I'm tempted on destroying you myself because you are becoming a liability. Being able to destroy our vessels, causing discourse with other members... Why should I let you live?"

"Because you still need me!" I barked out as I felt Young Xehanort pull my arm back tighter, making me yelp in pain as it was on the verge of breaking. "We could continue our plans without you, as you are more of a... back up plan for the moment," He scoffed as his grip tightened on my arm while his other hand slinked down to my waist.

"I.... If I am just a back up plan, why am I still here? Why... why bother going through Rauxdi to get to me?" I asked as he drummed his fingers against my hips. "Because it's fun," Young Xehanort said in a tone that sent chills down my spine as his hand started to trail underneath my shirt.

"I needed 'insurance' to make sure you will be on your best behavior as I could do so... so much worse to Rauxdi than just a few gang bangs you know. Would you like my attention instead of me giving it to her," he groaned before he started nipping at my earlobe, making me unintentionally whimper at his actions.

"You... You twisted bast-"

A pair of gloved fingers shoved their way into my mouth as Young Xehanort's hand slid from underneath my shirt entirely and slid from the top of my shirt to gag me, wrapping me in his twisted embrace.

"Careful with your next choice of words my dear. You know you can't stop all of us since we're more powerful than the vessel you had destroyed. I'm here for just one thing today, afterward, you're free to go as you please," Young Xehanort said as he started to wiggle his fingers free from his glove and left the leather husk inside my mouth.

_Liar_, I scoffed in the back of my brain as I felt something sharp digging into the wrist behind my back. I started to gasp, grinding my teeth into the glove, and trying to break free, realizing that he was cutting me open with his now free hand.

"Shhh, oh my dear. It will only hurt for a second," Young Xehanort hissed in my ear as he twisted the blade further into my skin. I buckled forward for a second, feeling the pain spike at tenfold because of him taking his sweet time.

"That's it, just a little more. You're such a good girl," Young Xehanort said as I felt my cries were muffled through the leather disposed between my canines. I could feel my heart pounding in an erratic nature as I felt the darkness trying to seep out from my core and take over as a primal urge to destroy.

Suddenly, the pain stopped and the blade was removed from the flesh wound. I could feel myself starting to breathe at a normal pace before Xehanort's hand reached around my shoulder to shake a vial mixed with blood and some black ooze.

"Just to keep you in the loop, we wanted to do some experiments on lesser Heartless using your blood. We could have asked nicely, but I had a better idea," Young Xehanort said as he planted a small kiss on my cheek as I clenched my jaw in anger.

_Fucking bastard wanted to see me in pain on purpose, that's for sure!_ I thought to myself as Xehanort placed the vial into his pocket as his hand returned to my hips.

"Unless you want me to do that again, I want to know why are you acting against us," Young Xehanort growled in a threatening way as he slides his hand back up to pull his gloves from between my teeth.

I blinked back tears from the taste of leather slowly leaving my mouth as Xehanort's hand slide back down to dig deep into my rib.

"Why... Should I tell you, _Master_ Xehanort?" I started to hiss as I noticed his grip had gotten tighter just at the mention of his name.

"I don't know why you think I'm even loyal to you. You're just kidding yourself!"

I said as I could feel Young Xehanort's body shaking behind me. He chuckled before he slid his hand out from under my shirt as he spoke, "You must be joking. Why wouldn't you want to be loyal to me, to all of _us_?"

Young Xehanort tightened his grip on my bloodied wrist, popping my shoulder out of place, making me scream from the pain.

"Being on traitor on both sides of Light and Darkness doesn't mean you get to have a happily ever after my dear. You are fooling yourself if you think you're going to redeem all the things you've done over the years for the Organization before we came into play..."

He scoffed as he let go of my arm and pushed me forward, sending me tumbling towards the cement. I caught myself barely on my one good arm before I turned to see he had summoned his keyblade and pointing it straight at me.

"Why... Oh why, are you serving Xemnas? He's the reason you're ever here today," Young Xehanort mocked me as he took a few steps forward as I felt my injuries starting to burn all over my body.

"Why, does it bother you that I'm not under your thumb?" I asked as Young Xehanort raised an eyebrow before he realized what I meant.

"You've got quite the mouth on you, maybe he loves that about you? I just... Don't get it! You're such an arrogant bitch!"

Young Xehanort swung the keyblade at me before I quickly summoned a simple broomstick to defend against his attack. The expression on his face was unreadable as the broom snapped in half as I felt the hit slowed down but still hit the mark. I tried to stagger to my feet as he prepared himself to come at me.

I flinched for a moment as I realized that my other arm was dripping with blood mixed with darkness and completely dislocated at this point. Young Xehanort cast a fire spell, causing me to go on defense from the blast before I realized he was behind me again and struck my back with his keyblade.

My brain raced endlessly for a moment before something snapped. Young Xehanort swung his keyblade down for another strike, but I dodged the attack as I felt the blood starting to burn the more it leaked from both wounds.

"I'm disappointed in you Audri," Young Xehanort summoned a dark corridor and stepped through, "What a waste of my time."

The makeshift broomstick disappeared from my grasp as I could feel dizziness starting to oversweep my mind. With what strength I had left, I summoned a corridor, swallowing me whole.

I found myself tumbling out and feeling the grass beneath my hands.

I just lied face down as I felt the wind slowly sweeping over my open wound as I drifted to sleep, feeling the darkness overcome me.


	25. The Servant of the Light

_"How are you feeling?"_

_A blonde girl kneeled on the ground next to me as I lied back on the dark-filled abyss beneath us._

_"Gotta be honest, I feel like shit. My wounds haven't been healing properly," I commented as I raised my right hand above my face, seeing that the scars and wounds trailing down my arm was glowing a sickly amber color._

_"Do you think it's because of your shifting alignment?" She asked, her voice charming my soul with mild comfort as I brought my hand down and placed it over my chest._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Because you're now choosing a path where you need to make a choice. Do you still want to keep pursuing the light even if it means your body will go through a drastic change?"_

_I drummed my fingers on my chest as I ran my fingers to my tricep, unlatching the purple star-shaped charm from the dark band. I held it up to the darkness above us as I took a deep breath._

_"Do I still have a choice? The Organization is one conversation from hunting me down," I started to say as I glanced to the side, to see her soft angelic face light up in the darkness._

_"You do. You've always had a choice, you were never given the option to explore and choose."_

_I nodded as she glanced at the charm I held up with my outstretched hand._

_"Did you know, there's a story about these charms? It all started..."_

I slowly opened my eyes, finding myself lying face-first on a plush surface.

_I could have sworn that I was outside when I collapsed_, I thought to myself as I slowly adjusted my body, feeling the ache of stress on my muscles. As I felt the grogginess slipping away, I realized that I was piled under a few heavy blankets.

I slowly turned my body so I can lay down on my back. The first thing I see as I face up was Riku's face hovering over mine.

"What the fu-" I immediately jolted up from the bed, regretting it as Riku's face bashed into mine, crunching noses on each other's skulls.

"Oh gods, why did you-?!" Riku's voice grumbled as he collapsed on the ground holding his face like I broke his nose. I rubbed my face for a second, realizing that the shock was more surprising than the pain until I backed up against the bed frame, squeezing myself against it like gravity was going to take me away.

"W...What are you doing here? Wait, where the hell am I?" I asked, a barrel of questions leaving my mouth in a panic as I turned to the door hearing a knock. As the door slowly opened, I saw Mickey stepping through with Lea following behind him.

"Oh golly gee, you're awake!" Mickey said in excitement as they both came to the side of the bed. I nodded, a little confused as I saw Kairi peek in from the doorway as Lea helped Riku off the floor.

"You slip or something Riku?" Lea asked jokingly as Riku scowled scrunching his face to make sure his nose wasn't broken. "Little Miss Heartless whacked my face with her big ass head," Riku grumbled as I scowled wanting to fight with him, but I decided against it.

"Seriously, where am I?" I asked again, realizing that maybe I can get an answer from one of the four people in the room.

"We're at Yen Sid's tower. Sora found you collapsed outside just before he took off to the next world," Lea explained as I felt my muscles seize up, pulling the blanket up to my face, "Is that wizard around? I should get out of there before-"

I stood my frantic display as Mickey shook his head, "Don't worry about leaving just yet. From how badly injured you are, it took a few of us to heal your wounds. They left scars, but we could only do so much with the darkness seeping out. Care to explain what happened to you?"

I slowly moved my arm, realizing that it wasn't dislocated anymore, and glanced to see the massive scar doing down my arm and stopping just before my elbow.

_That bastard... It looks like he tried to skin me alive from the looks of this cut..._ I sighed feeling that it was a waste of time to lie.

"I had a run-in with Master Xehanort. Or well, one of the 'Norts from a different timeline," I said as I placed both hands on my lap, seeing the look of nervousness across all of their faces.

"He said he needed something from me, kind of took the matter in his own hands to get it out of me," I said as I glanced over at Lea, knowing that he was someone I still trusted among the people around me.

"What type of information did he want?" Riku asked as his glare softened, seeing that as much as he hated me for siding with Xehanort, he knew something was off by my current demeanor.

"He didn't want information. He needed blood. Something about them wanting to experiment with Heartless with my blood," I said as my fingers trembled, feeling lighter than I have in ages. I soon brushed my hands over my arms and shoulders, feeling a jolt of panic as I felt the star-charm was not where it usually is.

"Wait! Did any of you find a star-shaped charm anywhere where I collapsed?!" I almost jumped out of bed as everyone jumped back in surprise by the sudden burst of energy. Kairi stepped forward as she pulled something out of her pocket.

"You mean this?" Kairi spoke softly as she cupped the small charm in her hands. I nodded as I took a few steps towards her, picking it up from her hands and bringing it to my lips in a sigh of relief.

"I found it when Lea and I arrived this morning. I figured it belonged to someone around here since we don't get many visitors at Yen Sid's tower," She said with a smile, making me look at her with tears running down my face.

I quickly stepped forward and pulled her into a tight embrace, tears quietly drifting down my face as I nodded, "Thank you. It's something very important to me now that I can't go back."

As I slowly let go, I could see Kairi's cheeks flushed with color in surprise as she nodded cheerfully.

"Well, now that you're awake, they request an audience with you," Mickey said as he stepped over to my side as I raised an eyebrow, "Who's they?"

* * *

"Of course it'd be you," I grumbled under my breath as I stood in front of Yen Sid and Merlin as everyone seemed to be gathered at the top of the tower's study.

"I take it you fully recovered my dear," Merlin said with a smile on his face before cleaning his spectacles. "Yes, thank you for your help," I said quietly as I shifted my gaze over to Yen Sid, who seemed to be staring straight into my soul.

"Mickey had filled me in that one of the Xehanort vessels had put you in that condition at my doorstep. Riku has also filled me in that this is not your only run-in with the two of them as they sought answers of finding vessels for another purpose," Yen Sid spoke in a dreary tone as I nodded.

"That is correct," I said in a curt manner as Yen Sid brushed his hand through his beard before he spoke, "Why have you not tried to stop us in any way so far? I heard you found your way to Sora as he gave you his location, and you disappeared within a manner of moments. You also came across him in another world and saved his from Vanitas' attack."

I tightly held the charm in my hands as I brushed my thumbs along the cool metal edge. I lifted my head as I spoke, "Because it's my choice."

Everyone in the room glued their attention to me as I bit my bottom lip before I continued, "I was raised by Organization XIII for a handful of years, seeing all different sides to them. When Sora came in the picture, I was to turn a blind eye since my curiosity would lead to unraveling their plans. When people close to me were destroyed at his hand, I went blind with rage and fear."

"After spending some time alone, after the Organization was first disbanded, I started to readjust and remember that human lives are fickle things. I started to enjoy life until Master Xehanort drew me back by force," I tightened my hold on the charm before holding it above my heart, "I want to find my own destiny and I can't keep following orders. I have to do what's right for myself and others."

Yen Sid and Merlin exchanged a look between the two of them before Merlin smiled, "My, for a lass with darkness outpouring from you, you speak as if you have decided to fight the path you were placed on." I hesitated for a second, waiting to hear a 'but' to that sentence.

"But it seems that you do not have the best support due to your mannerisms," Yen Sid spoke with a smile crossing his face as I raised an eyebrow at him, "Does that mean I get to walk out of here freely?"

"In due time, I think you should study with Lea and Kairi to hone your light."

My eyes widened at Yen Sid's words as he spoke, catching Lea and Kairi by surprise as well. "I can see that within the darkness you walk, you're found a light to hold onto to help guide your way," Yen Sid commented as I felt tears running down my face.

"Stand tall, and may your heart be your guiding key," Yen Sid said as I wiped my tears away with a smile on my face.

* * *

"Come on Axel, put your back into that swing!" I shouted from the sidelines as Axel lunged at Kairi with his keyblade, clashing blades with her. Kairi was able to keep up with Axel and managed to slide behind him and kick his feet from underneath him, sending him tumbling into the dirt.

I just winced and smiled seeing today's sparring lesson was going well. Lea, or Axel, wanted to go back to his name from the Organization because he wanted to be remembered if Roxas ever came back. A lot of people accepted that change because they only knew to call him Axel for the times they had met him before.

I glanced down at the pad of paper in my lap as I had scribbled encrypted notes for myself so I could figure out who the key players were without anyone being nosy. Even though I was with Axel and Kairi, I still felt hesitant around Mickey, Riku, and Yen Sid.

I basically had everyone labeled with their weapon of choice, which gets confusing when you realize that half of the heroes and villains all have keyblades. I put a big circle around the keyblade accompanied by three stars in the middle of the divided groups to symbolize Terra, Ventus, and Aqua.

To be safe, I redacted Rauxdi and I from the table altogether because something felt wrong having us there. We were brought into this crazy place years ago, not knowing it could go like this.

"So they have at least fifteen people on their side as far as I know, and a dwindling five of them to be actual guardians," I mumbled to myself as I chewed on the pen cap in my mouth.

_If they don't find Aqua and Ventus, they're going to go after the 'New Seven Hearts' like what Yen Sid said_, I thought to myself as I was cut off when Kairi stood in front of me with a smile beaming on her face.

"Oh, hey Kairi. Sorry, I got lost in thought. Can I help you?" I asked closing my notebook up as she smiled holding her hand out to me. I quizzically looked at her as she spoke, "I wanted to fix your lucky charm for you!"

"My... Oh, you mean...?" I rummaged around in my pockets before I pulled out the star-shaped charm and placed it in her hand. She smiled as she sat next to me, having a few other items in her other hand, ready to begin her work.

"You don't need to do this Kairi, we've barely hung out this last week," I said sheepishly as she shook her head, "When I saw how worried you were when you woke up without it, I thought it was best to have another way for you to hold onto it. Hold out your wrist?" I held my left hand out to her as she seemed to continue working on her little mending project.

A thought crossed my mind as I glanced at the girl sitting next to me. "I... I heard that you lost your heart, but because you were a Princess of Heart, you never had a Heartless form, and yet..."

"Oh, are you talking about Naminé?" Kairi asked as her gaze met mine. I nodded, "How does that... or, uh... Is she still considered your Nobody?" She smiled as she turned back to her work on my arm, "She is. She was considered to be a special Nobody that could alter memories of people connected to Sora."

"Is it because he was your secret boyfriend?" I asked with a sly grin on my face as she blushed, shaking her head, "I don't understand it really, but it might have to do with the fact that my heart lived with Sora after we were swept away from Destiny Islands for a while."

"Huh, I see..." I brushed my hair back with my free hand before Kairi smiled, "Ta-dah! What do you think?"

I slowly pulled my arm back and gasped as I saw the corded bracelet wrapped around my wrist, and embedded in the middle of the weave was the purple charm. "This is..."

"I've had practice making charms before when I made one for Sora. Thankfully this type of charm is pretty common for travelers to have," Kairi said with a fondness in her heart. I glanced at her to see this look of sincerity on her face, "It is? I thought it was just a pretty charm. I got it from one of the Nobodies I'm friends with, or well... Her lover gave it to me to keep safe."

"Nobodies have parts like the rest of us?!" Kairi gasped with a blush before I mentally slapped myself, realizing that she's still a teenager.

"Getting off track there, but... What is this charm actually? I have another friend who has something similar made for him," I said, thinking about Terra's charm that his friend made and how he still has it, even in his heart.

"Well, there's a legend from my island. We have this star-shaped fruit called a Paopu Fruit. People share the fruit with the ones they care about so their lives are always intermingled," Kairi explains as I fiddled with the star on the bracelet.

_Why does that sound familiar... Maybe Terra told me about it_? I thought to myself as I spoke up, "Why is it meant for travelers?" "Because! No matter where you go, a little piece of them is always with you," Kairi said with a smile on her face before she sat up from her seat next to me.

"Sounds pretty romantic and cheesy," I said with a smirk as she shrugged, "It's more sentimental than romantic I think. If I could, I would want to share a Paopu with Sora and Riku because they were my best friends for the longest time!"

Her wording seemed to cause me to be confused as I cocked my head, "Aren't they still your best friends?" Kairi nodded but she turned to face me with determination in her eyes, "We are, but I'm always scared that they'll never come back. I want to get stronger to protect them!"

"I... I wish I had a dream like that," I said with a small smile falling to my lips as I saw that Lea was gone. "Think he went back to the cottage to rest?" Kairi asked as I nodded, "I think he was tired of getting beaten up."

"Heh, fair enough. Want to go back together?" Kairi asked holding her hand out to me as I shook my head, "I want to take a walk before I go back. You go on without me." Kairi nodded as she started to head back down the country path, waving as she took off.

As I saw Kairi out of my view, I placed my notebook down before sighing. "I haven't tried this since Twilight Town, and I'm not sure what type of strain this will have on my body," I said out loud as I stood up from my seat, holding my hands out in front of me.

_Mostly for a long-distance connection, is this going to work out or will there be some type of lag_, I thought to myself with tech humor before I closed my eyes and started to focus on reaching Terra.

* * *

I opened my eyes slowly and found myself in a hazy version of Land of Departure. I felt my eyes flicked around for any movement, unsure of why there was this lingering mist around the area.

"Terra, where are you?" I called out, feeling the entire world felt like it was hollow and echoing my words. I shuddered for a moment before I turned around and made my way to the castle doors.

As I walked through the halls, I called out multiple times, hoping that Terra would answer. Instead, my own words bouncing off the walls reached my ears instead.

_Strange, he usually comes out right away. This world isn't that big_, I thought to myself as I started to make my way up the staircase and towards the throne room.

As my shoes clinked across the marble floor, my eyes drifted over to a figure sitting one of the thrones at the end of the room. My blood froze as I saw the figure was not Terra, but another armor-clad stranger holding a keyblade.

"Who-"

My words were caught in my throat as I dodged a ray of light orbs being shot in my direction.

_Definitely NOT Terra!_ I thought to myself in a panic as I dashed across the floor, landing on my hands to see the armored figure stand up from the throne and make his way towards me.

"Who _are_ you?" The distorted voice asked behind the suit of armor as they held their keyblade at their side. From what I could hear, it sounded like a gruff older male.

"I'm... I'm a friend of Terra's."

That seemed to be the wrong answer as I soon dodging a head-on attack from their keyblade as they thrust it in my direction.

"Terra's friends have been gone for a long time. Now, I ask again, who _are_ you?"

_This guy is not messing around_, I thought to myself as I stood my ground, knowing that I can't fight, but no one said I couldn't run.

"I'm being serious! I'm... I'm trying to free Terra's heart from Master Xehanort's hol- Wait, Wait a second!" I hollered putting my hands up as I found myself staring down the keyblade pointed at my chest.

"Why should I believe you? Master Xehanort is the reason that Terra, Aqua, and Ventus are gone from this world," The voice bellowed out as it vibrated off of the walls, "He's the reason that I-... Nevermind that."

"Well, believe me, Master Xehanort has screwed over so many people over the last twelve years and many more since then, me included. Now, can you just put the keyblade down?" I tried to ask nicely as I gestured to the keyblade in front of me. With no expression to judge behind the mask, their next sentence did not speak well to me.

"Why have my ways failed to reach Terra? For him to have you, an ally of darkness aid him, has he truly lost his way?" He said, stepped forward with the blade pointed at my neck as I stepped back the closer he got.

I could feel my scars tingle, but it didn't feel like the burning sensation I usually have against keyblade wielders.

_Is it because he's not real?_ I thought to myself before he swung his blade, knocking out chunks of the marble behind my head when I ducked out of instinct.

_Shit! For him to take out the wall like that defines he's real, and yet..._ I blinked and immediately rolled out of the way for another attack before I slide to my feet and bolted out of the throne room.

"Terra! I would like an explanation for the amped-up security!" I started to holler in panic as I could hear small explosions going off behind me. I glanced back for a second and almost felt my heart leap out of my chest with how close my assailant was; he raced towards me with his keyblade swung back as he ran.

"Oh god, please let this be a dream. A dream where I accidentally fell asleep trying to reach Terra," I sobbed hysterically as I found a window and quickly opened it and climbed out, hoping to escape without a scratch.

As I start to climb and drop down a few levels at a time, I almost get blasted off the side as orbs of light struck the building blindly, making me lose my grip and suddenly fall back towards the forecourt.

"Shit, shit, shit!!!" I spun around in time to tuck and roll, hitting the ground with enough force that I'm pretty sure my bones are broken in my wrists from that fall. I yelped as I felt something blunt strike at my leg, making me roll away from the ground and find my leg was bruised with the keyblade wielder standing over the spot I landed.

As he stood there, blade in hand, he slowly made his way over with a proud stance to him. "I will not let you tempt his heart to darkness no more," His voice rang in his ear as he brought the blade over his head.

_So much for being able to get ahold of Terra_, I smiled, closing my eyes in acceptance of my defeat, waiting for the killing blow. Instead, the blow never came down as a loud metal crash ring throughout the entire world.

"You-" The gruff voice said in shock before another clash of metal echoed through the air, "Have you truely gone mad?!"

"Sorry Audri, I didn't realize you were looking for me."

I opened my eyes in surprise to the familiar voice as I found Terra standing over me, his back turned to me as his keyblade was interlocked with the mysterious assailant. "Can you still stand?" Terra asked as he glanced down at me for a second as I nodded, slowly getting back to my feet.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up last minute! Care to explain what's going on?" I asked, wanting to tear into Terra for letting me get wiped out, but relieved that he showed up at all.

"Well... This is my Master. It's a long story but-" Terra was interrupted as he was sent flying back by the armored keyblade master, lodging him straight into me, making up both hit the ground.

"_This is _the man you looked up to? Why is he here?!" I snapped as I helped Terra to his feet, grasping onto Earthshaker like it was an extension to me out in the real world.

"Like I said, long story. Eraqus, enough!" Terra said with a cheeky grin on his face as the old Master Eraqus stepped towards us donning his keyblade in an offensive pose.

"I should have been stronger to protect my students. If I stop you now, I can finally atone for my mistakes!" Eraqus said as I realized that there was no chance of talking a babbling old man from his madness.

"Audri, get behind me, you need to get out of here while you still can," Terra ordered as he took a step forward about to combat against his old Master. I glanced between him and his master, seeing the two make some type of eye contact through their armor.

"Sorry Terra," I said quietly before I quickly side swept past him and turned my back, stepping in between the two masters. Terra stopped his attack immediately as his eyes were wide in surprise, "No, wait-!"

I felt a jolt of pain sear through my shoulder blade before I collapsed to my knees. The pain did not burn like a normal keyblade strike, but the pain was still severe getting hit by a metal object on any other given day.

"...Why do you not fight?"

I glanced past my shoulder, seeing the armored keyblade Master standing there with his blade nowhere in sight. I closed my eyes and chuckled, "Even if I could, I rather sacrifice my life so Terra can have a second chance at his. That is why I chose not to fight you. I'm here to protect Terra from getting injured any more than his heart can take."

A silence passed through the air before I heard the movement of metal behind me. I felt a sudden burst of warm light washing over my wounds, realizing that I was being healed.

"I... Have made terrible judgment yet again," Eraqus' voice reached both of us as I slowly stood up from the ground to find Terra standing next to me, still in shock.

"Terra, Terra's friend... Will you forgive this old master for interfering? I... Do not know what is going on, but I know that the world is thrown into chaos," The old man's voice started to weep through the armor as I shook my head in disbelief.

"I don't really have to accept your apology, even if you just healed me..." I started to say, feeling my words trailing off as Terra looked at me in disbelief, "Audri, you wouldn't-"

Eraqus held his hand up, shaking his head at Terra. "But..."

Eraqus' head looked down at me as I smiled, "I want to because I know you were just protecting Terra in your own way."

"You are an odd one... Still, I know that if you're looking after Terra, then you know of the danger his friends, my apprentices are in," Eraqus spoke as Terra and I nodded.

"Please..." A bright light started to shine down and envelop Eraqus' armor as his words to a whisper, "Please save them for me."

And with that, Eraqus and the lingering mist was gone.

I turned to Terra and smiled, "Can I get an explanation n-"

I was pulled into a tight embrace against Terra's armor, feeling the life being crushed out of me as Terra spoke, in an almost shouting way.

"How... How dare you do that! I... I could have stood against him and yet..." Terra's words reached me in a harsh tone as I felt my confidence starting to shrink.

"You... You didn't have to do that. You got hurt because of-"

"If you say what I think you're going to say, I'm going to be more pissed than you are," My voice grumbled from inside of Terra's bear crushing hug as I raised my head up to feel water droplets on my face.

_Is it raining? No..._ I blinked and my smile softened as I could see the tears rolling down his cheeks as he trembled.

"I'm sorry Terra, it was a risk to see if he would stop attacking you," I said trying to calm him down as he wrapped me tighter to his chest, that I was standing on my tiptoes due to him slowly hoisting me up.

"You're reckless. Too reckless for a Heartless, too premeditated for a human," Terra said as he brushed his nose against the top of my head, inhaling my scent as he seemed to be calming down.

"Hey Terra..." I started to ask softly after he started to slowly release me from his hug.

"Yes Audri?"

"I... I need to know your connection to Xemnas."


	26. Secrets

I jolted from my slumber the minute I woke up, scrambling to my feet as I raced down the hill towards the small house that Kairi, Lea, and I were sharing. As I bust the door open, I could see Lea and Kairi were just putting out dinner.

"I'm going off for a little while. I promise I'll be back," I said with a gasp in my voice, turning away quickly before I summoned a dark corridor. I could hear their disjointed confusion as they called back to me.

I could feel the darkness swirl around me as I snapped my fingers. Dark tendrils dripped down onto my body as I kept walking through the corridor as I felt thick leather hugging my curves. I stepped out of the long tunnel to find myself walking through the Keyblade graveyard, pulling my darkness-tainted hood to cover my head.

I took to wearing a pseudo-Organization XIII coat where it was more like a hooded vest with a long tailcoat. Something inside of me felt like it was better to be naked all of a sudden but I shook the thought away as I walked through the dusty wastelands.

I could feel the small star charm clinking against my skin as I brought my wrist up to my lips, realizing that I had a lot on my mind since I talked to Terra...

_"What?"_

_Terra looked down at me in surprise as I nodded, "Terra, I... No one has told me the whole story. Even when we first talked a few months ago, you only told me what you knew once Master Xehanort possessed your body. There's so many gaps in what I know so far, and..."_

_How you reacted to Xemnas when he tried to take me away said a lot, I thought to myself but I shook my head, unsure if it would be wise._

_I clenched my fist to my chest as I looked up at him, "I need to know what really happened to you. Please, Terra."_

_Terra cast his gaze to the ground, "It's not that easy to understand but... Xehanort tried to cast me, or my heart, from my body so he could have complete control. He almost succeeded, but it gave his amnesia. He... eventually gained his memories after a few years, turned residents of Radiant Garden into Nobodies that you know, and turned the keyblade on himself willingly. That...."_

_Terra raised his hand up before looking back at me, "Ansem, the so-called 'Seeker of Darkness' and Xemnas came from Xehanort and me." I stood there before feeling a weird feeling washing over my body. It wasn't warmth or an icy touch. It felt... numbing._

_"I... I have to ask a question, and I need to know the truth." I said, feeling my stomach coil up in anxiety as he nodded, noticing how serious I was._

_"Do... Do you think that me interacting with your heart now, is affecting Xemnas, somewhere along the timeline? Even if you both... exist in the same moment?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_I stayed silent for a moment, not sure how to start explaining before Terra chose his words carefully._

_"It's possible, but I wouldn't know. Why do you-"_

_I stepped forward and hugged Terra tightly, "I can't really explain. I have been a lot of weird thoughts lately. It doesn't help with me not knowing what is real anymore."_

_"Audri..." Terra frowned as I loosened my grip and stepped away, "I'll be back. I... need to find something out."_

I felt myself being forced back to the present as dark corridors started opening around me. Two... Three... Five dark corridors opened up. The people I least wanted to see were surrounding me as a few of them stepped forward.

"Well hello, hello! Nice to see you back for another round," Vanitas snarled as he stepped forward with Dark Riku flanking my side prepared for an attack.

"Come on, I've only been gone for a few days and you get all hostile on me," I said sarcastically before I saw Saix, Terra-Xehanort and Young Xehanort standing in front of me.

"Surprised to see you here Audri, what manners do you have with us?" Young Xehanort asked as he stepped forward. My eyes flickered over to Terra-Xehanort, seeing that he was making no intentions to confront me.

_Terra... I'll set you free somehow_, I thought to myself before I let out a deep breath. My eyes shifted back onto Young Xehanort, noticing that he didn't have his keyblade out as he approached me.

"I can't just walk around the world anymore? I'm so hurt," I said as I was suddenly brought down to my knees, feeling the crushing weight of something holding me against the ground.

I could glance behind me for a second to see that I was being pinned down by a magical barrier made of cubes.

_What in the...?_

More dark corridors opened up within moments.

Xemnas and Xigbar stepped out with a hint of nervousness crossing their faces.

"Hey, why all the gloomy faces?" Xigbar asked nonchalantly, trying to lighten the mood as he took a few steps forward.

"You know why. This is just a precaution," Terra-Xehanort said as he crossed his arms over his chest as they all turned their eyes towards me and Young Xehanort.

"Why are you here Audri? You escaped our grip and yet you came crawling back to us within a matter of days," Young Xehanort stated as I was brought to my feet, feeling weightless before realizing that I was trapped in a ring of magic cubes created by Sorcerer Nobodies that Xemnas was controlling.

"Oh please, don't fucking flatter yourself Xehanort. You're just a vile piece of-" I felt a jolt of pain rip through my body as I looked down to see a deep gash with a bullet sticking out of my side. I looked up in rage seeing Xigbar had a few Snipers surrounding the box.

I glanced around and held my tongue, realizing that they were not screwing around right now.

"What do you want me to tell you?" I asked as I adjusted my position, feeling the walls were slowly getting smaller and smaller until they tightened around my torso and arms, barely able to move them as Young Xehanort stepped forward, at least a few feet in front of me, I could spit on him if I wanted to.

He pulled his hand free from his side before running his hand through my tangled hair, "Just give me one answer. Why should we let you walk freely? You are more dangerous to us by the second, and besides-"

I felt my body being pulled into an awkward waltz as Young Xehanort dipped me back, holding onto my waist and fisting his hand through my hair holding me up, causing tears to burst from my eyes, "You're quite a maddening catch when it comes to abuse."

_This... Fucking bastard!_ I thought to myself, not being able to spit the words from my mouth as he pulled up back up before twisting his fingers tighter in my knotted up hair.

I could see the darkened look of disappointment on his face before he loosened his grip and let me crumble on the ground, landing on my knees as I felt the tears drip down my face.

He turned around before he started to step away, snapping his fingers together. Vanitas and Dark Riku flanked me from both sides drawing their keyblades.

Searing pain ripped across all of the scars on my body, making me let out a cursed scream as I fell forward, and curled up tightly on the ground, wanting to rip my skin off as it burned.

"Xeha... Xehanort!" I felt his name ripping through my throat as he stopped in his tracks. He glanced back to see my hair covering my dirtied face as I lied in the dirt.

"I... Isn't the Recusant's Sigil enough?" I managed to gasp from my lungs as I felt my body hurting from the newly opened wound from Xigbar was making my head ring as the keyblades got closer by the second.

I could barely see the look on Young Xehanort's face as he snapped his fingers.

"But Xehan-"

"I want you two to leave now," Young Xehanort growled under his throat as Vanitas and Dark Riku exchanged a dirty look with their Superior before taking their leave through a dark corridor.

The pain started to dull down before I heard footsteps coming towards me. I felt fingers brush against my face before tilting my chin upwards.

I opened my eyes and let out an involuntary whimper seeing Terra-Xehanort kneeled in front of me with his destructive golden eyes stripping away any vulnerability I had.

"Why do you have the Recusant's Sigil? Well... No matter, we do have one use for you," Terra-Xehanort said coldly, making my stomach lurch, seeing that he was just as disturbing as the rest of them.

"We need more of your blood. The sample that my dear younger self collected from you was not sufficient. We only ask for some more and then you'll be free." He asked in a tone that was almost threatening.

I looked up at him and hissed, "Is that all you want from me?" He smirked as he let go of my chin, making my head collapse onto the ground. "We'll see in due time..."

"Xemnas."

Terra-Xehanort said in a commanding voice as he stood back up on his feet. Xemnas nodded as he flicked his wrist upwards. The Sorceror Nobodies surrounded my collapsed body and used their powers to levitate the cube prison wrapped around my body until I was hovering a few inches off the ground.

"Xigbar, Saix. Please be on your guard just in case she breaks loose," Young Xehanort commanded as they looked at my restrained form in surprise before summoning more Nobodies of all rank to form a barrier around all of the present individuals.

"Would you love to do the honors?" I heard Young Xehanort's voice as my vision started to cloud.

_Is it because I'm just bleeding out? No, something else is affecting me but..._

"I am flattered."

_How does it feel to be helpless?_ I heard an echo of my voice, distorted yet agitated creeping into my thoughts.

My eyes started to close as I heard footsteps stepping towards me. I felt something sharp digging into the open wound as my eyes opened wide in shock. I wanted to let out a scream but I was cut off from Terra-Xehanort's lips crushing mine. I flinched trying to pull back as something sharp caught my lip.

Terra-Xehanort pulled back and licked his lip of the blood that got onto his face, "Well come on darling, put on a brave face like Rauxdi did when she beg to spare you."

_Motherfucking... Oh, he knows how to rile me-_

My thoughts went blank as I rolled my head back as I felt the pain spiked, making me cry out in anguish. "You are just a little brat who needs to know her place," Terra-Xehanort whispered loud enough for me to hear between all my screaming.

_Oh, I don't know why you are trying to be a goody-two-shoes. Just give in to those urges you feel_, The voice spoke out again as I could feel my vision was flickering like I was in a badly lit room.

I felt my head being pulled forward as Terra-Xehanort grabbed my hair to look at him, "I wish I could just drain you dry. Oh, the look on your face is just lovely. We only need your blood, not like we need the rest of you."

_Don't you just want to let me take control and just..._

"Then again..."

I felt my breath hitch in my throat as he pressed his forehead against mine as he spoke, "I guess we can use you just like what we did to Rauxdi."

_Let me devour him from the inside out?_

Terra-Xehanort's sadistic expression was burned in my retinas before I blacked out.

* * *

Xemnas flinched as he stood by with making sure the Sorcerors' spell had Audri in a tight enough restraint. What bothered him the most was her screams in agony as Terra-Xehanort dug the needle further into her ribcage.

Something about this entire charade felt like it was another way to make her crumble by intimidation.

"Xemnas... why does the Recusant's Sigil read of your-"

Saix stopped himself as the four bystanders turned their attention to Terra-Xehanort and Audri. Her screaming turned to laughter, stopped within seconds as both of them stood as still as possible. You would think the two of them are frozen in time at this point.

"Why in the hell did she start laughing..."

Xigbar stepped forward for a second before Saix lunged forward and pulled him back, "Wait! Don't-"

A sudden shockwave ripped through the ground around the two figures before a bright orange and black light emitted from where they stood.

Next thing they saw, Terra-Xehanort jumped back with the No Name keyblade in one hand and the syringe loaded of Audri's blood in the other.

Xemnas was knocked back as a force of razor-sharp hooks ripped his coat apart as he guarded against the sudden burst. He glanced up to guard against the assailant to find no one near him.

He glanced to see Young Xehanort, Xigbar, and Saix had drawn their weapons with the Nobodies closing in around the area.

His amber eyes flickered back to the center of attention and felt his words get caught in his throat. He saw a darkness-dripping figure with an erratic stance, hunched over on the ground with bright blue and pink markings all over its body.

The erratic figure wasn't what caught him off guard, it was the apparition he saw standing next to them. 

"What a sight for sore eyes! My, it's been a long time..." Xigbar called out as he pointed his sniper gun at the apparition as stepped forward, the orange light was heavily mixed with the scent of darkness as they strode forward.

"How in the world did she..." Young Xehanort hollered out, drawing his keyblade in anger as Xemnas finally stepped forward.

"Want to make a bet that this is just an illusion?" Xigbar called out as Terra-Xehanort ground his teeth as he gripped his keyblade with nervousness flashing across his face.

"No response? I guess... We can just say she brought _him_ back from the dead," Xigbar said getting ready to aim before Xemnas summoned his Ethereal Blades.

Xemnas just stayed quiet as he found himself gazing across the shattered area at a blue and golden-eyed Terra.

* * *

"Where... am I?"

I fluttered my eyes open as I found myself floating in emptiness.

"Hello?" I called out before I heard a high-pitched voice echo throughout my head.

"Well... That's fucking-"

_"Audri?"_

I looked around as I heard the faint voice call for me. I felt a smile pull to my face as I called out, "Terra? Where are you?"

_"I'm... You... I need to listen to me."_

"I don't understand!"

_"Just follow the light and you'll und...."_

"Terra?!" I called out again, met with echoing silence. I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest before I felt gravity was starting to pull me down.

"Wait, shit- am I falling?!" I yelped in a panic as the speed suddenly picked up. I closed my eyes, expecting a massive impact to crunch my body into a million broken bones.

I found myself slowly wrapped in a cold breeze as I felt my feet touching down on the ground beneath me. I opened my eyes and found myself standing in the forecourt of Land of Departure.

_That's weird... What am I doing..._

My thoughts were cut short as I saw a young blonde boy walking towards the castle.

"Roxas?" I called out, seeing that he had no inkling that I was calling to him before I turned, feeling another presence nearby. I turned to see an older gentleman with a bushy topknot for a hairstyle and dressed in very antique garbs.

"Ventus, you're alone? I thought Aqua would-"

_Ventus? That's... what Ventus looks like? Wait... Does that mean this is..._

I pondered on the thought as I saw the older man cross over the field and grab the young blonde's shoulders as he spoke in relief, "Well, what matters is that you're home. You don't belong outside this world yet. You need to stay here where you can learn-"

The blonde spoke up and I could see this look of anger crossing Ventus' face that caught me off by surprise, "In your prison?"

The older male dropped his arms as he was surprised as Ventus spoke, "That's your excuse... for keeping me imprisoned here, isn't it?"

The flash of anger said a lot even though I wish I could step forward from the sidelines, but something told me I wasn't here to meddle. The man stood up as he looked down at Ventus with alarm, "What did you hear?"

"That I'm supposed to be some weapon... Some kind of... 'X-blade'!"

"I knew it. Xehanort- he could never let it go." The man spoke with disgust as he ran his fingers over his scars with a glazed over look on his face of sorrow.

"I failed. I had the chance to stop him and couldn't do it... But I will not fail again," The man growled in defense before he summoned his keyblade and held it in an offensive position as Ventus backed up in surprise, anger turning to fear. 

_Wait! Stop..._ My thoughts were ripped through my throat as Ventus spoke in surprise, "Master! What are you..."

"The X-blade has no place in this or any world. Xehanort has made his purpose clear... and I am left with no choice. Forgive me," The man spoke as I could see his eyes filled with regret as he swung his blade as he charged up his spell, "But you must exist no more!"

_No!_ I dashed forward, without a second thought as I stood in the middle where Ventus stood, seeing the golden chain spring out from the older man's keyblade.

"Ven!" I suddenly felt a burst of warmth wash over me as something passed through my body and immediately found myself staring at a familiar armored back.

The chains disappeared as I saw Terra standing between me and the older man with his own keyblade drawn.

I looked down at my form to see that my body was more of a phantom as my being flickered back into place.

"Master, have you gone mad?" I heard Terra's voice ring through the air as I turned to see them speak.

"Terra! I command you- step aside!" The man howled in anger as Terra's armor diminished, leaving him standing there with Ventus and I standing behind him.

"You will not heed your Master?"

"I won't!"

"Why do all my attempts to reach you fail? If you don't have it in your heart to obey..." The old keyblade master started to speak as I could see the tears run down in face in sorrow, "Then you will have to share Ventus' fate."

As he charged forward, Terra interlocked his keyblade with him before Ventus fell to his knees by my side as he spoke up, in fear and very distraught.

"Enough. Terra! He's right..."

"Quiet!"

"Terra..." I said softly as I heard Ventus speak at the same time, realizing that Terra was always watching out for his friends. As their blades clashed, I felt something flickering in my vision.

I stepped to the side, getting a better look as Terra and Ventus were thrown back from their Master's last attack.

I could see Terra picking up Ventus, seeing that his friend had crumbled in his arms is exhaustion before his Master was charging up another attack.

"Was... he planning to run?" I whispered to myself before I noticed the massive whisps of very familiar energy surrounding Terra.

Darkness.

"You may be my Master. But I will not... let you hurt my friend!" Terra proclaimed to the old Master in front of his before the darkness started to expand and bleed out.

"Has the darkness taken you Terra?!" The old master cursed out as Terra pointed his keyblade behind him and opened up a portal, tossing Ventus back to safety before it closed.

"Wait, Terra!" I could hear Ventus' voice ring through my ears before I saw the two men clash blades and bring ruin upon each other.

_Why am I seeing this..._ I thought to myself before I heard a ringing noise echo through the area.

I flickered my eyes up to see the two keyblade wielders on opposite sides of the field. Terra has this look of horror and guilt wash over his face as his keyblade dissipated.

"What have I done... Master... I just... wanted to keep Ven safe," Terra spoke as he stepped towards his old Master, the words striking through me to the core as I felt a wave of deja vu hit me like a rock.

"No, you were right. I failed you, Terra. Perhaps I've no one to blame but myself for the darkness inside you. And now I've done worse... raised my Keyblade against you and Ventus." The old master started to say as I felt a massive amount of darkness flicker through the area.

It wasn't coming from the two men in front of me, but somewhere else altogether.

I could see Terra shake his head as he reached out to the injured man as he spoke, "My own heart is darkness!" I closed my eyes, feeling pushed back all of a sudden by a gust of wind before hearing the clatter of a keyblade hitting the ground.

I opened my eyes to see Master Xehanort standing nearby with his keyblade out and the old Master falling into Terra's arms as he looked just as shocked as he dissipated into orbs of light.

"Master Eraqus!" Terra sobbed as he knelt down on his hands and knees as he wept for his fallen Master. The look on his face said it all that he didn't mean to have his Master get killed. And yet...

I stood there horrified as I saw Master Xehanort step forward and started to speak to Terra. I felt something heavy in my heart before something pink flickered out of the corner of my eye. I turned around to find a vast emptiness around me before I found myself in a completely different area.

I looked around before realizing that I was somewhere else in the Keyblade Graveyard. Seeing that I was on top of a cliffside, I glanced behind me to see Master Xehanort and Terra clashing Keyblades.

I saw Master Xehanort's eyes flickered over me for a moment before he spoke up, "Go take what Ventus owes you. And take Aqua's life." My eyes widened as I felt something moving behind me, seeing a masked Vanitas running towards the edge of the cliff before retreating.

Terra pushed Master Xehanort back before rushing towards the cliffside to chase after him, but his tracks were stopped as Master Xehanort teleported in front of him.

"You see how powerless you are to save them?"

The words drove an ice pick through my heart as I watched the scene unfold.

"Savor that rage and despair."

_Terra..._

"Let it empower you!"

_No, Terra... You're stronger than all of this._

"You will pay Xehanort," Terra started to speak up as he clutched his keyblade, feeling the anger wash over his as I could see the darkness spilling out from his heart.

"Was my Master-no, my father, Eraqus not enough for you?"

_It's not just anger... It's sorrow, fear... Protection_, I thought to myself as I noticed Terra's energy wavered as he cursed the old Keyblade Master out.

_Protection? Oh please, he fell to darkness for a reason_, I heard the distorted voice ring through the air as if they stood next to me.

"Leave my friends alone!"

I turned to head to see Master Xehanort had summoned the No Name keyblade as he pushed Terra further, "Yes, boy, that's it! More!"

_Why can't you see that darkness is the only way?_ The distorted voice spoke as I saw the flickers of pink in my vision again, causing my skin to crawl in panic.

"Let your whole heart blacken with anger!" Master's Xehanort's words seemed to have turned on a switch on Terra as I could feel the darkness pulsing through the air at a rapid rate.

I turned to see Terra screaming in anguish as the darkness started to overtake his rage.

"Terra, no!" I shouted about to run forward but finding everything went dark again and I was stumbling into the darkness. I tripped over my own feet, expecting to fall into the abyss.

_Face it - this is a goose chase..._ The distorted voice snarled before I felt myself being pushed back and falling through the abyss.

Instead of a massive impact, I felt myself sitting on something that crunched moments later. The distant noise of seagulls caught my attention as I opened my eyes carefully.

"Uh... Okay, now where the fuck am I?" I mumbled to myself as I slowly sat up, realizing I was sitting on a sandy beach.

The waves were gently crashing onto the shore as I looked beyond the sunset horizon. It looked like there was another island nearby off in the distance, but I couldn't make any other landmarks out.

I turned around to take in my surroundings, more confused by all of the tropical foliage, the waterfall, and the weird make-shift huts in the trees.

"I... don't recognize this place at all," I said to myself quietly as I felt my attention was caught by a wooden bridge extending to a small island not far from the water's edge. I slowly made my way over to the bridge and immediately felt my body being pulled towards the island.

I stopped in my tracks as I could see a figure in the distance. I squinted for a moment before I saw Terra standing with his eyes closed and Earthshaker in his hand.

I jogged forward and stopped as Terra lifted his head and opened his eyes. I flinched back for a second seeing his eyes flickered from gold to blue.

"Is... Is it really you Terra?"

He let out a heavy sigh before he stepped forward. I wanted to flinch back but there was something licking my wounds clean as I stood there, being enveloped in a familiar feeling...

"Terra, where is the darkness coming from?" I asked after a moment, seeing that there was darkness, now wrapping around my body, was coming from Terra. He held his hand out to me, not speaking a word as the look on his face was full of life and dependable charisma.

I stepped forward, the darkness wrapping around me as I place my hand into his. He brandished his keyblade around until he was holding the head of the handle, holding it between us.

"In your hand, take this key..."

I looked up at him as he finally spoke, his voice confident and a smile on his face.

"So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking..."

"...It's wielder you shall one day be," I finished his sentence as I firmly grasped the handle of Earthshaker.

"I let my anger and rage get the best of me when Master Xehanort took hold of my body. I don't want the same to happen to you."

I saw the softened look on Terra's face as he whispered, "I won't let him hurt you. Please... Take my light and darkness... Protect what matters most."

I frowned as I spoke, "But I don't know what... How can I-"

Terra's keyblade disappeared in a golden light as I was pulled into an embrace.

"You'll know when you find it."

I could see something that looked like a dark looming figure on the beach just a few feet back from Terra as they started walking out of my sight. I could hear the clinking of chains, realizing that Terra was oblivious to the noises and figure behind him as he held me.

I closed my eyes as I felt darkness wrap around us like a heavy blanket. I could feel a burning feeling in my chest as I felt the scene around us fade away as the darkness consumed us.

* * *

Xigbar jumped back as he tended to Saix's wound that Terra ripped open on the Nobody's chest.

"Any plans on slowing him down?" Xigbar snarled as Young Xehanort, Xemnas, and Terra-Xehanort were circling around the lost keyblade wielder.

"He's barely breaking a sweat unlike the rest of us," Young Xehanort cursed under his breath as he realized that the apparition of Terra finally pulled his blade from an offensive pose to a defensive one. Young Xehanort twitched as he saw the apparition have a smile cross on his face before his body started to disappear into orbs of light.

"What the hell is going on?" Terra-Xehanort asked as he stepped over to Young Xehanort, realizing that they were left on the battlefield alone.

"Wait... What if this was...-!!!" Xemnas' eyes widen as it looked around, seeing that the dark figure was nowhere to be seen.

_Where did she..._ Xemnas thought to himself before he turned around quickly in defense as he felt a murderous aura getting closer to him.

Instead of Terra, Audri was in the air, clashing with the Superior of the In-Between as she slammed Ends of the Earth into his Ethereal Blade.

Xemnas pushed her back by force before she leaped back, crouched low to the ground as she dug the keyblade into the ground to keep her balance. Xemnas stepped forward as he took in her appearance, seeing that she looked... _almost_ the same.

Her white hair was violently whipping into the air coming off of her body with a deep pink fade to the tips of her hair. Her skin was seeping with darkness coming out from her arms and legs as she gripped the keyblade in a defensive stance with an unusual-colored chain around her left wrist.

What alarmed the Nobody the most was the confused stare she gave him.

"Audri..." Xemnas started to say about to approach her, but she let out a ferocious snarl, her skin was starting to drip with darkness as it dribbled down her arms and legs, pooling at her feet. Her hair draped over her shoulders and back as the pink turned a bright shade of magenta.

"You little bitch, get back here!" Terra-Xehanort snapped as he rushed past Xemnas and swung his keyblade at her. She blinked with a jaded stare before she pulled her left arm up and blocked against the attack with a chain wrapped around her arm.

A bright light came from it before it bounced Terra-Xehanort's attack, flinging him back to where Xemnas was standing. He slid back on his feet before raising his keyblade against her in a more defensive pose, realizing that she wasn't going down without a fight. Hell, he didn't even know what erratic battle strategy she had now.

She batted her eyelashes at Terra-Xehanort before turning her back to them, slowly standing to her feet wobbling. As she opened her mouth, an erratic string of noise left her lips like she was a feral animal. Xemnas' eyes widened for a second before he took a step forward gripping his Ethereal Blade.

"What did you do...?" Xemnas spoke up with a threatening tone in his voice as Audri stood there bringing a hand to her mouth as she let out a distorted laugh.

Audri tossed her keyblade up into the air, disappearing into the light as her arm dropped to her side. Soon after, a dark corridor swallowed her up, without another trace.

Xemnas was about to try and go after her, but he was pulled back as something wrapped around his leg and he was face-first on the ground.

He glances back to see a massive Heartless towering above all of them as he has a black and grey staff with an intricate heart-based tip.

The Heartless just loomed over them before Saix looks at the others in surprise, "Did she...?"

"I think so," Xigbar said as he gave a low whistle. The Heartless turned to face them and the two remaining chains hanging from its torso lunged out at the other Seekers.

Xemnas realized that he was being dragged into it as one of the chains was wrapped tightly around his leg. He quickly summoned his Ethereal Blades again with a destructive intent towards the Heartless.

* * *

"....dr... pl.."

I could barely hear the words through the static in my brain.

"..ke u.... p....!"

Something pierced through the clutter in my mind.

But... what was it?

I could feel the weight of grogginess lift off my body as I pulled my hands over my eyes.

I had a splitting headache and I don't...

_Wasn't I in the keyblade graveyard?_ I thought to myself before a cry reached my ears.

"I think.... dude!" The high-pitched voice hit my eardrums as I groaned in annoyance before turning on my side, placing my hands over my ears.

"Oh good god! Turn off the puberty," I moaned in pain before I felt something land on my face.

I slowly opened my eyes and peeled the item off to see it was a fluffy towel. I raised an eyebrow before I turned to my side to come face to face with Demyx.

He waved his hand nervously as he spoke, "You're not going to try and maul me again... Right Audri?"

I just raised an eyebrow at him before shrugging, "Do you deserve it?" Demyx just took a deep breath and smiled, "I'll take that response as a no."

I slowly sat up, realizing that I was in my old flower shop. I raised an eyebrow to see that Demyx used a bag of soil for a make-shift pillow.

"How did I get here?" I asked as Demyx raised an eyebrow at me, "You don't remember? Oh well... You stumbled through a portal, crashing into me. You almost tore my head off with your bare teeth. Thankfully, there was this rock nearby and-"

I just shook my head as I rubbed my scalp feeling a sore spot, "No wonder I feel like shit. But..."

_I really don't remember how I got here. I remember Terra-Xehanort digging that needle into me, and then... Wait, didn't I see Terra and we spoke about..._ I thought to myself as Demyx kept rambling.

"...And then Xemnas and the others were looking for you, really really upset and-"

I grabbed Demyx by the front of his coat as hissed, "Please tell me you didn't tell them you hid me here."

Demyx held his hands up trying to defend himself, "No I didn't! You looked really out of it, so I just hid your body until they left. Besides, not like it matters if I'm loyal or anything..."

I slowly loosened my grip in relief before another thought struck me, "What do you mean about that? You cheat on the boss or something?"

"No, not really. I got benched, now that all the replicas he wanted are up and running..." Demyx hung his head as I rubbed his shoulder.

"...He really just wanted the best of the best," I mumbled to myself as Demyx forced a smile to his face, "No biggie! Now I just get to... Play my sitar and relax. It's okay if I use your place, now that you're on the run, right?"

I just squinted before I flicked his nose. He pouted and covered his face from the subsiding pain before I sighed, "Damnit. Guess that means word got around about me being a wanted criminal."

"Just... water the plants and take care of the house cleaning. I might come back one day," I said, earning a thumbs-up as Demyx smiled. "Don't worry, I've been asking Marly for tips on keeping everything alive."

"Well, thanks for doing it before I asked then," I said sticking my tongue out as I noticed the sad look on his face.

"Are... Are you okay Audri? I... I haven't seen you since I left Xiggy and Raux rescue you. I was afraid that something bad happened and you blamed all of us," Demyx said as I grabbed his hands, gripping them tightly, afraid to let go. He was probably one of the few Organization members that were genuinely nice after all this time, and yet...

I glanced down for a second before forcing a smile, "It's not your fault. I'm..."

_On the run because I found out Master Xehanort is a total douche?_

I stopped for a second before putting a finger to my lips, "It's a secret Demyx!" Demyx blinked for a moment before he pouted, "I thought we were friends! Won't you tell me?"

"Nope! I don't want to get you involved in my mess," I said sticking my tongue out as he sighed.

"Well, I appreciate it. I don't wanna do any work for you... Oh! Wanna trade secrets?"

I raised an eyebrow at him before letting out a small giggle.

"I'm terrible at keeping other people's secrets, you hold onto it Demyx." I said with a smile before he scratched the back of his head, "Even if it's about me, Marly, Larxene, and Luxord?"

I pondered on that thought for a moment before pulling my hair into a tight ponytail.

"Is it even a good secret?"

"Well... I mean, it startled us to know that Xemnas knew what we were," Demyx said as I lied back down on the sack of soil.

"I think I'll pass for the meanwhile. I might just get more rest since you really hit me hard with whatever rock you pummeled me with," I said pulling my arms over my eyes as Demyx sighed, slowly getting up to go tend to other things in the shop.

As Demyx slowly shifted with unease, he opened a dark corridor and found himself standing in the Second District in Traverse Town.

_I'm only doing this because Rauxdi is able to follow through on a threat,_ Demyx thought to himself as he slowly made his way to the District's hotel.

* * *

"She... did what?" Rauxdi asked as she stood up from her chair as Xigbar and Saix were tending to their wounds and Demyx leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I didn't know that it was going to be that serious..." Xigbar said as he handed a roll of gauze to Saix as he finished tending to the bleeding wounds on his scarred wrists. "None of us knew what would happen. For them to be that precautious and still struggling to get the upper hand..."

Saix's words trailed off in the air as Demyx fidgeted, tapping his foot against the wall.

"I can't believe you made me lie to Xemnas and Audri. They're going to kill me if they both find out-" Demyx trailed off before Xigbar shook his head, finally grabbing for the battered shirt on the bed.

"Even if they do find out, we're going to be dealing with another set of problems."

The three of them hesitated before Rauxdi crumbled back onto her chair, "Even so... Does anyone know what that blood is being used for?"

Xigbar and Saix just shrugged before Demyx stepped away from the wall, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand.

"Actually..."

"Seriously? They told _you_ and not us?" Saix scoffed for a moment before Demyx flinched back. Rauxdi shot Saix a glare before turning to Demyx.

"It was when I was helping Vexen with the replicas. Or, well... After Audri destroyed the Riku replica. With the traces of her blood that leaked onto the machinery, Ansem demanded for us to bottle it up," Demyx explained as three sets of eyes looked at him with a quizzical look crossing their faces.

"Why in the world would he..." Saix stopped as he stood up from the bed and opened up a dark corridor.

"What is-" Rauxdi was cut off as Saix grabbed his coat off the bed, grabbed Demyx by the hood of his and dragged him through the portal at a hurried pace.

As the portal closed, Xigbar shook his head before running his fingers through his knotted hair. "Any idea what he is thinking about?" Rauxdi asked as she slowly got up and stepped towards Xigbar. He just leaned back on his hands before crossing his legs over each other.

"No idea Raux. He's clearly in a world of his own demented past."

Xigbar smiled for a second before it was wiped clear when he saw the look of annoyance on the red head's face.

"Oh no..."

"Oh yes, now back to the conversation we were having days ago before you took off to hold Audri against her will as Xehanort tortured her," Rauxdi said with an irritated tone in her voice as Xigbar glanced to the side with a sigh slipping from his throat.

"Well... Where did we leave off last time?" Xigbar said as Rauxdi sat down next to him, interlocking her fingers with his. "You were telling me more about that secret girlfriend of yours... Ava, was it?"

Xigbar smirked for a second before he leaned against her shoulder, supporting his tired body, "Oh please. She wishes that she had a boyfriend like me. But Raux..." He slowly lifted his head to crane his face into the crook in her neck.

"I... I don't think I can tell you anymore."

"About your whole secret life thing or..."

"Well, everything really," Xigbar lifted his head until his nose was brushing against her cheek, "As much as I want to dump all this information for you to absorb as my "sexy version" of the Book of Prophecy, I just... Is it worth it?"

Rauxdi blinked before she placed her hand over his eyepatch, quickly pulling it back before she let go, having it snap him in the face.

Xigbar had an unamused look on his face as Rauxdi jabbed a finger into his chest, "Okay, you've been avoiding me for a while now. But to ask if this is worth it, I definitely don't have the answer for you. But you can't just half-ass shit like this!"

"And I almost got you killed just because you know one too many secrets," Xigbar said as he brought his hand out to grasp the hand jabbing his chest.

"So what? Life goes on after I die. The universe is not going to collapse if I die."

Rauxdi found herself shoved onto her back on the mattress before Xigbar straddled her waist and pinning her arms above her head. She could barely see the look on his face as his hair came loose from his ponytail.

Xigbar leaned down and placed a firm kiss onto her lips, bringing a flutter of excitement up to her chest. He pulled back as he spoke in the softest whisper, "I would at least want you to be around for a little while, even a century or two if you don't mind."

He smirked before he leaned down for another fierce kiss, this time biting her lip, making Rauxdi flinch and struggle against his grasp before he pulled away, running his fingers through his hair.

"So you can't die until I say so Raux." Xigbar said with a devious smile on his face as Rauxdi fluttered her eyes closed with a smile, "Don't be fucking selfish. You already died once on me."

Xigbar smiled before he lifted his head up looking down at her with a solemn look on his face. "Rauxdi, there's... something else I should tell you about what happened. I know you won't take his word, but Xemnas said that something happened between him and Audri during her escape today."

* * *

"That should do it for now," I said with a small smile on my face as I finished repotting the overgrown Chrysanthemums. I slowly got onto my knees and tried to clap the soil off of my hands, realizing that some was caked under my fingernails from all the digging I decided to do without any tools.

I smiled for a second, feeling a little relaxed to be home just for the moment before turning to go further into the apartment. "Bathroom, bathroom..." I mumbled to myself as I opened the small bathroom door to see that it was fairly bare except for a few black coats draping over the shower curtain rod.

"Geez, Demyx really let himself take over the place," I chuckled as I turned my attention to the sink. I turned on the water and started to scrub my hands clean.

I glanced to see that the dirt was still under my nails, so I opened up the mirrored medicine cabinet to pull out a heavy-duty sponge.

I closed the cabinet and stole a small glance in the mirror. I dropped the sponge into the sink as the water was starting to fill up in the sink.

I slowly moved my hand to my mouth in shock as I looked at the reflection in the mirror.

"Is this... really me?"

I placed my hands on each side of the mirrored cabinet to stare back at the magenta-stained irises that burned brightly in the reflection. They flickered for a moment before they dulled back to their golden color.

I could feel something was crawling under my skin as I could see my skin was turning ashen and black as it crawled from my chest and up to my face. I looked down to see that nothing was happening.

When I looked back up, I could see the shadow-based figure with my face and deep pink eyes looking at me with a sadistic grin.

_Just give into the darkness, it's so much easier than feeling alive..._ The distorted voice rang through the air as the reflection pressed its pink and black claws against the mirror.

I grabbed the soap dispenser sitting on the sink counter and smashed the mirror, shattering it into hundreds of little slivers as they sank into the overflooding sink, as water rushed down the basin.

I just backed up against the wall and left the bathroom in a panicked rush.

* * *

Xemnas was walking through Twilight Town for the last time that night as Young Master Xehanort gave him and the others to track Audri down. Xemnas just exhaled through his nose knowing that she could be found with the Recusant's Sigil he placed on her, but something was blocking the signal for the moment.

He thought about asking Demyx again since he was cooped up in her shop and apartment, which annoyed him already.

_If only it was easier to find her location... as if she'll just show up out of the blue,_ Xemnas thought to himself before he felt a surge of darkness running towards him from a portal.

He summoned one Ethereal blade by instinct before he felt his waist being tightly embraced accompanied by sobbing.

Xemnas looked to see the top of their white hair and feeling a muffled voice scream into his coat. "What..." He started to say as he saw their face tilt up. He froze for a moment as he could see their eyes were a deep magenta before they flickered back to gold.

"Xemnas, I'm..." Audri sobbed through the tears as his blade dissipated into thin air. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders as she just continued to wail.

"It's okay. I'm right here..." Xemnas whispered to her softly, stroking his gloved hands through her hair as she continued to sob. He leaned down and pressed a kiss on top of her head as he rocked her body as they stood out on the cold streets.

Xemnas closed his eyes as the scene from earlier played in his head.

_Audri batted her eyelashes at Terra-Xehanort before turning her back to him, slowly standing to her feet wobbling. As she opened her mouth, the words Audri said shook Xemnas' body to the core._

_"She has such a beautiful vessel, wouldn't you say so?" Audri's voice came out distorted as Xemnas looked at her in confusion._

_He wanted to speak out but she cut him off, "I can't wait to break free and devour every sliver of light!"_

_ Xemnas' eyes widened for a second before he took a step forward gripping his Ethereal Blade._

_"What did you do...?" Xemnas spoke up with a threatening tone in his voice as Audri stood there bringing a hand to her mouth as she let out a distorted laugh._

_"Don't make me laugh, you broke the seal yourself when you gave the final push all those months ago. And with that... I thank you, Lord Xemnas."_

_Audri tossed her keyblade up into the air, disappearing into the light as her arm dropped to her side. Soon after, a dark corridor swallowed her up, without another trace._

_Xemnas could see the flickering smile burn into his mind as Audri disappeared._

Xemnas squeezed Audri tighter to his chest as he could feel a pang echo in his chest.

"Let's take you somewhere to rest," Xemnas said as a corridor wrapped around both of them.

Audri nodded into his chest as she looked up at him with a weakened smile on her face as she mouthed 'thank you'. Xemnas felt his... heart crack as the corridor closed and took them back to Castle Oblivion, _There's no turning back._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sup everyone, here's the chapter. Now I'm off to do animal crossing and download final fantasy 7 remake ^-^


	27. The Rebel

_A month ago..._

"Do you think you can do this favor for me, as a friend?" Ansem spoke as the ebony-skinned gentleman in front of him glanced over his shoulder, expressing a look of confirmation to his own shadow cast on the wall behind him. The shadow seemed to shrug before the man turned back to face Ansem.

"Now, Ansem... I appreciate you helping me by finding me a place to harvest souls while the hearts go to you. I have kept that promise over the years to be an aid on the sidelines. But this... It sounds like I am getting involved in your own mistakes..."

The man spoke with a grin as he twirled his cane in his hands as Ansem summoned a small dark corridor and a bag of coins caught on the end of the gentleman's twirling staff.

"I need four blood binding pieces that we can use. Something simple that can't be destroyed easily by-"

"I'll be done by the end of today. Go enjoy the sights of New Orleans, enjoy the scenery and the food!"

The smile dropped from the man's face as he walked to the small staged table he has in the back of his shop. He dropped the bag of money onto the table before picking up the top hat with the dramatic purple feather sticking out of the band. As his shadow picked it up and dropped it onto his own head, he turned around with a glint in his eyes.

"Ansem, don't look so uptight! You knew what you were getting yourself into the minute you stepped into my shop," The man smirked as he walked over tapping the purple crystal on his wooden cane onto the Heartless' chest.

Ansem just scoffed before he stepped out the front door, "You better not let me down Facilier, because this is the last resort."

As Ansem slowly stepped out of the alleyway and his somber presence contrasted with the lively French Quarter, Ansem just glanced up at the clocktower nearby.

"I wonder if the others are capable enough to obtain more of her blood..."

_Present Day_

"Why am I here?" Rauxdi whispered to Saix sitting on both sides of her as Xigbar shrugged, overhearing her comment from the next seat over. Saix shushed the redhead girl as they turned back to Young Master Xehanort as he spoke to the rest of the Organization.

"...but we have found a better way to restrain Audri the next time we come in contact with her," Ansem jumped into the conversation, piquing everyone's interest as they looked over at the silver-haired man.

Although...

The biggest thing that everyone seemed to glue their eyes onto was the giant scar crossing down his left eye and cheek. When Ansem first appeared for today's meeting, everyone wondered what the fuck happened to him.

"Why do we need to restrain her exactly? I thought the idea was that she is a traitor and to be eliminated on-site?" Luxord asked as he shuffled a deck of cards in his hands.

_It's weird seeing Luxord after all that happened the last few years_, Rauxdi thought to herself as she leaned against Saix, who tried to push her through a portal over to Xigbar's throne. 

Ansem started to speak as he glanced over his companion's faces, "Well, we would like to still have some control over her. However, we need to be more cauti-"

"You haven't told them yet?" Master Xehanort spoke up as he cocked a glare into Ansem's direction, making him fidget in his seat restlessly. "Master Xehanort... We didn't feel like it was a good idea to make a panic out of the situation," Ansem said as Vexen raised his eyebrows.

"Alright, well if he's not going to say it-" Vanitas stood up from his chair and looked around at the others sitting there as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Ladies and gents, Audri is a threat to our wellbeing and our vessels. The reason Dark Riku was out of commission for a long while was that she destroyed his vessel with her bare hands," Vanitas said as everyone looked around the room in concern.

Xemnas clenched his fists as Vanitas rambled on, "I hate to be the bringer of bad news but we had her restrained but _someone_ decided to let her escape. Anyways-"

"Vexen's vessels were strong enough to hold the heart and soul, not to be severely damaged in the manner she eradicated him," Master Young Xehanort retorted as Vanitas shot a glare at his superior's direction.

"What caused her to act out like this?" Larxene asked, having a brief idea that from when she and Marluxia intercepted Audri during her mission in Arendelle.

"It was a sparring incident-" Master Xehanort was cut off as Vanitas sneered.

"Riku let his guard down gloating instead of slaughtering the Heartless pig. He should have just finished the job instead of being an cocky asshole."

"You mean like how you always are?" Terra-Xehanort chimed in with a smirk while Vanitas started cursing people out in a fit of rage.

_This is bad, this is really bad. I guess there's no escaping this now, right Audri..._ Rauxdi thought to herself as corridors were starting to open up, people leaving while Vanitas was verbally fighting with Young Master Xehanort.

"Rauxdi. Please come to my room right now. We have some matters that need discussing," Rauxdi's eyes flickered up as she saw Terra-Xehanort were glancing over at her, with a predatory look in their eyes.

She glanced around to see that no one was left except for the two of them. She sneered as she leaned forward from Saix's throne, "I know what this is going to turn into, why not just force me instead of asking nicely?"

Terra-Xehanort smirked as he placed his hand under his chin, "I rather see you submit willingly than be forced right now. Then again, you were _forced_ by Ansem to do some work before you went on that mission with him the other day."

Rauxdi felt her face flare up in anger as she snapped, "You're all fucking horrible, you know th-" Rauxdi dropped from the throne as a corridor opened up below her, prompting landing on Terra-Xehanort's lap.

"Now, my sweet firecracker. Choose your next words wisely if you don't want to be punished so severely by all of us at once," Terra-Xehanort said as it took a moment for Rauxdi to realize what he was talking about.

_This bastard is..._

"Now... What did you want to say?" Terra-Xehanort asked as he trailed his fingers down until he started to unzip Rauxdi's coat until it draped off her scarred body.

She glanced away for a moment before looking at him with hate in her eyes.

"My.... My body is yours, Lord Xehanort," She hissed through her teeth as he knotted his fingers through her hair and kissed her aggressively.

* * *

"Your orders are to help Riku with bringing out chaos on a nearby world," Terra-Xehanort said as he walked away from the bed to adjust his appearance in the bathroom mirror.

Rauxdi just lied on the bed with her bare back exposed as she had new scars and bruises all over her body. She just propped her head up with her hands with a glazed over look on her face.

"What is with these paired missions lately?" Rauxdi grumbled under her breath as Terra-Xehanort leaned against the door frame with a cocky smirk on his face. Rauxdi just scoffed as Terra-Xehanort walked over and stroke the hair from her eyes.

"If you paid attention, we're worried about Audri trying to take us out," Terra-Xehanort said as he pressed his palm into her lower back, making her yelp in pain as the black and purple bruise burned over her skin.

"And we need to keep a better eye on you since you have a way to cause trouble for yourself and have been more... defiant lately." Terra-Xehanort growled as he leaned down planting a firm kiss on a jagged scar across her shoulder.

"You rather control the weaker subordinate than try to wrangle all of them at once? How pitif-" Rauxdi yelped as Terra-Xehanort fisted her hair and dragged her off the bed, forcing her to kneel in front of him.

"As much as I love how much your mouth goes off, you still need to learn your place," He grumbled, making Rauxdi whimper from her scalp being on fire.

She heard his belt buckle clank to the floor before she saw his half-erect cock being stroked in front of her face. "I'll let you get going once you take care of me," Terra-Xehanort growled as Rauxdi hesitated in opening her mouth up.

"Fuc-" Rauxdi's words were silenced as he shoved his dick into her mouth, holding her head tightly. Rauxdi just tried to fight against his grip by pushing her hands off his thighs. Terra-Xehanort growled as he tightly grabbed her hair and head with both hands as he proceeded to face fuck her.

Rauxdi started seeing spots and going to blackout as the man was making her suffocate on his dick not letting her get any air. She looked up with tears in her eyes as she saved the sadistic look on his face.

"Suck me like a good whore, I know Ansem and the others have said that you're a fucking wonder."

She tried to blink back the tears, but with the sudden thrust forward, she was gagging on his dick again wishing she didn't antagonize him earlier. She felt her eyes flutter closed for a second before she felt air entering her lungs again.

"Open your mouth, you cute slut." Terra-Xehanort's voice reached Rauxdi's ears as she instinctively opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out like a bitch in heat. She felt something hot and wet splatter all over her tongue and face as she heard the man groan.

She felt her hair drape down her back as she slowly opened up her eyes to find cum dripping off her eyelashes and down her face.

"Fuck, I wish I didn't have to deal with my old self's plan. I would be abusing you all the time," Terra-Xehanort exhaled with a smile on his face as he adjusted himself back in his hakama before plopping back onto his bed.

Rauxdi just felt a chill go down her skin as she felt a dark corridor opened on the other side of the room.

"Time for your mission darling," Terra-Xehanort said with a smirk as he tossed her torn leather coat onto the floor next to her naked body.

* * *

"What's your fucking deal?"

"E'cuse me?" Rauxdi blinked slowly as she turned to see Dark Riku standing next to her as he summoned a horde of Tireblade Heartless to roam around the city.

"You're acting like I'm going to beat you every time I raise my hand to open a corridor," Dark Riku said with a tick of annoyance in his voice as Rauxdi rubbed her face in exhaustion with her gloved hands.

"I had a long meeting with Xehanort."

Dark Riku raised an eyebrow at her before she rolled her eyes, "The one that never wear a coat Xehanort." Dark Riku nodded as he realized which one she was talking about. "What was the meeting about?"

"Just that I was supposed to join your beaten ass on this mission," Rauxdi summoned her lance to make sure the Pogo Shovel and the Metal Troll Heartless were getting along.

Dark Riku let out an agitated snort as he smirked, "I'm sorry, not my fault I can't keep my records clean. Some people shouldn't judge when they can't keep cum off her tits."

That struck a real chord on Rauxdi's soul that she grabbed the front of Riku's coat with her free and snarled. "Listen you fucking shit bag, you-"

"Don't got a chance to fuck you because our Superiors are fucking you for themselves. Isn't that right Rauxdi?" Dark Riku said with a shit-eating grin as Rauxdi shoved him back before making her lance dissipate.

"Just let me babysit your shitty plan and then I'll go slit my wrists wishing to ride your dick," She hissed as Dark Riku laughed. "I can make that a reality if you just let me tell the others that I'm better than all those Xehanorts combined."

Rauxdi just pondered on his words and almost vomited from the thought. "You are fucking disgusting," Rauxdi hissed as she summoned a group of Snipers before setting them loose on the city.

"Whatever babe, let's just take out Sora and his friends with the new enemy Vexen cooked up for me to experiment with." Dark Riku turned away from her as Rauxdi turned her head in interest.

_Sora's here?! Is that why I was sent here in the first place to get killed by that motherfucker in the crossfire?! Wait, what if I..._

She thought to herself in nervousness before Dark Riku had a portal slip out a massive surge of AI bots that swirled around the area as one giant sentient monster.

"Ready to go, Princess Cumslut?" Dark Riku said with a smirk as Rauxdi felt her eyes flicker for a moment in anger.

_It probably won't be the only opening but sooner rather than later_, Rauxdi sighed as she snapped pointing her finger at you. "That fucking does it! I am sick and tired of you treating me like I'm the only whore in the Organization!" Rauxdi snapped as she caught Dark Riku off before remaining unmovable.

He seemed a little jaded as she continued acting out on him, "Like the fact that Audri was the biggest slut until I got taken by every other man in the Organization, I mean... Does it really matter? I'm my own woman and you are all the worst!"

She started to feel better as she vented before she turned around and started walking away. That definitely got his attention as Dark Riku tried to take a step forward as he closed the dark of the dark corridors seeing the Heartless were loose.

"W-wait! Where are you going Raux? You're supposed to-"

"Stick around with you? Yeah, I fucking think not. Get yourself a partner than you won't fucking piss off," Rauxdi snarled as Dark Riku and opening a dark corridor.

_Now to find Sora before it's too late_, She thought to herself with an agitated sigh as she appeared in another part of the city.

* * *

Rauxdi walked around the darkened city streets with a deep red hoodie and denim cut off shorts. She also wore a pair of sneakers as she placed a pair of sunglasses over her eyes.

"Even though I haven't seen Sora or his gang in a few months, I don't want them to recognize me right off the bat," Rauxdi said to herself as she started to crack her knuckles. She came to a slow halt as she felt a dark looming presence was rushing towards her.

She looked up and dodge rolled out of the way to see the surge of AI bots were swarming the area as Heartless started to appear from the area. "Well, guess I gotta protect my own ass while I'm out here," The redhead said with a smirk as she was about to summon her lance.

Instead, she was stopped as she heard a shrill 'look out!' and saw colorful bomb-like shells encase the nearby Heartless in goo. Rauxdi blinked as she summoned her lance regardless, "What in the..." A sudden blast from some type of plasma bullets erupted down on the Heartless as their hearts disappeared into the moonlight.

"Woohoo, we did it! Let's go get that giant monster!" She turned to see a group of three individuals and a... blue monster, running past her in some type of crazy gear.

The woman with long blonde hair suddenly stopped and bowed, acknowledging Rauxdi's presence and making a run to catch up with her friends.

"Well... like that wasn't weird," Rauxdi said as she swung her lance to rest along her shoulder before she saw a smaller boy in purple gear similar to the ones that just ran past, managed to catch her eye.

"Hey kid, what's the fire?" Rauxdi called out as she seemed to catch his attention as he came to a slow stop. "Did you see a group of people that were dressed sort of like superheroes run this way at all?" The kid called out frantically as Rauxdi could see the look of stress on his face.

"I might have. What-"

"Sorry, no time to chat. I gotta make sure they're safe!" He called out as he bolted off running down the street.

"Hey, hold on a minute!" She called out, hoping he would stop again but to no avail.

"Well... Shit, so much for that," She sighed as she pushed the sunglasses back onto her face before she heard more footsteps behind her. "Hey, you should get out of here! There are monsters everywhere, it's best to go inside!" A very familiar voice called out as the footsteps came to a halt.

"Well, gee Sora. I appreciate the sentiment, but I can take care of myself," Rauxdi replied cooly as she turned around, trying to act cool in front of her enemy but she came face to face with a giant red and purple robot with a cute visor over his head.

"What the fu-"

"I am Baymax, your personal health care unit!" The robot said in a monotone voice before Rauxdi peeked around the robot to see Sora, Donald, and Goofy standing there in confusion.

"Uh... What a way to ruin my dramatic entrance bud," Rauxdi hissed at the robot as she stepped around swinging her lance at her side as she saw Sora, Donald and Goofy draw their weapons, unsure what to make of the stranger in front of them.

"Who-?"

"Sora, Donald, Goofy. I'm just here for my own motives, I need you to pass on a message for me."

Rauxdi explained as she slowly pushed the sunglasses on the top of her head as she sneered down at them, trying to act like an old fashion street gangster. Her heterochromatic gold and blue eyes flickered with the street lights and signage above their heads.

"Why should we listen to you?" Donald quacked in fury as Goofy held his shield up in defense, "Are you the one controlling those... Microbots that just flew by?"

"You mean those nasty little bots? Nah, someone else is doing that. But I can't let you destroy them just yet."

A smirk came to her face as she felt the adrenaline rushing through her body as Sora seemed distracted by the noisy chatter going on within the headset he was rocking.

"Move! We have to save our friends!" Sora shouted as he stepped forward with his keyblade in hand, trying to put on an offensive stance. Rauxdi just scoffed as she stepped forward before pointing her lance straight at Sora's chest.

"I'm trying to warn my friend too! Now, will you pass on a message to Audri?!" Rauxdi snarled as she felt the darkness was starting to seep out of her in annoyance. Donald and Goofy just back from the surge as Sora lowered his keyblade in surprise, "A message to Audri? Wait, why should we listen to you?"

"Well... Let's say you do what I ask. If you win against my shitty coworker, you don't need to do my little errand at all. Sound like a deal?" Rauxdi said with a smirk before she blew Sora a kiss. Sora blushed as Donald and Goofy shouted at the young teen saying they're wasting time already.

Sora nodded as he walked past Rauxdi as she lowered her lance. "Don't get in our way," Sora said trying to hold a brave face as Rauxdi smirked as the trio walked past them to ride on top of their robot friend's shoulders.

As they take off from the streets, Rauxdi turned away with her sunglasses placed back over her bright blue and golden eyes, "I'll let you be my eye, keyblade master."

* * *

"Where did you run off to? I got to have so much fun last night with Sora and the loser friends he made on this world," Dark Riku asked as Rauxdi stepped through the dark corridor to find herself hovering above a corporate office building.

"I wanted to cool down, sorry that I bitched at you last night. Took my temper out on some Heartless," She sighed as she pulled her hoodie down, her hair flickering through the air like wildfire, and pushed the sunglasses up the bridge of her nose.

Dark Riku just smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, "Did you also lose your coat and steal them off the poor man you fucked to death?"

"You really want to start this shit first thing in the morning?" Rauxdi snarled summoning her lance as Dark Riku laughed standing there defenseless.

"Easy Raux, don't be a prudish slut."

"That's not even a word Riku," Rauxdi snapped about to step towards him but a surge of those Microbots flooded the air and wavered in front of Riku like a shield. She jumped back a few feet and landed on top of the turbine-powered blimps in the sky before taking a seat with her lance tucked under her shoulder.

"Giving up already?" Riku laughed as Rauxdi scoffed gesturing to the edge of the building, "Nah, we got some company, my man. The dark-clashing type."

Next thing they knew, the two Seekers of Darkness saw the group of superheroes called Big Hero 6 show up, alongside Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Rauxdi just watched as she saw the crowd was getting ready to fight against the Microbots they came across the night before.

The one voice that seemed to stick out was the kid in the purple outfit as he spoke, "You don't have to crunch the numbers, Baymax. It's not the sum of our parts, it's the sum of our hearts."

Rauxdi glanced over to see Riku snorting in amusement as well as he shouted, "What adds up to _what_?"

The group looked up and saw that Riku immediately jumped down with Soul Eater in hand before he destroyed the heart of the Microbots, seeing it collapse into pieces as it shocked and confused the group.

"Almost there," Dark Riku said with a smirk as he collected what looked like a small microchip in his head.

_Being a troublemaking babysitter is such a hard gig_, Rauxdi thought to herself, teleporting with a corridor to find herself sitting on the helicopter platform right behind Dark Riku.

"Wait.. What?!" Sora called out in shock as he and everyone else was still glued to Riku's actions. He kicked a pile of the microbots across the ground before he spoke, "This pile of junk collected the data we needed..."

Rauxdi's hands trembled before gripping the lance tightly while Dark Riku spoke, "The terror of being attacked without warning..."

Rauxdi closed her eyes as she heard Terra-Xehanort's sadistic words in her head the night that he first raped her...

"The despair of having no place to run..."

She held her breath as the world started to spin as she remembered going to Xigbar and he was not able to protect her from future abuse...

"The longing for vengeance..."

Rauxdi's deep hatred and spiraling despair to end Xehanort after all that he's put her and Audri through... and yet, she has not even come close to that goal...

"A heart's more than that!"

Rauxdi was snapped out of her thoughts as she heard Sora's voice clear as a bell.

"It's working together."

Images of her working together with Xigbar since she came to be his apprentice came to mind...

"Smiling at something funny!"

The memories of how the Organization was before with Marluxia, Larxene, Axel, Roxas, Demyx, Luxord...

"Trusting friends."

_Audri put her heart and soul into trusting me after all that happened..._

"In every heart, there's hope!"

Rauxdi felt the word crack the ice exterior on her soul as she felt something blossom in her.

Hope... It's something she never had thought was possible during this time and yet, the keyblade wielder in front of her believed strongly in it in by taking down Xehanort.

"You're right."

Rauxdi felt her breath get caught in her throat as Dark Riku spoke holding the chip up in his hands, "That's why I made sure our creation fought you. Now the data contains a complete heart."

"A heart made from conflict? Sounds like you're just stalling to not get your ass kicked by these kids by making things up," Rauxdi spoke up, finally having enough being the watchful peanut gallery as everyone turned their attention to the lax redhead sitting on the helicopter platform.

"Huh? You're that girl..."

"She's with the Organization if she's with the Riku impostor!"

"I'm just the babysitter," Rauxdi scoffed as she glared at all of the individuals below her like a vulture waiting for the kill.

"Speaking of creations, Vexen got a special delivery for you," She said with a smile as she ripped a hole in the air above Riku's position; having a dark corridor opened up as something dropped out of it.

The microbots brought down an item and disappeared, much to the horror of the gang behind Sora as they realized it was an old friend of theirs.

"No, wait! That's... Baymax?"

The kid in the purple suit said in disbelief as Rauxdi glanced between the newly formed creation at her feet and the 'Baymax' standing at their side.

"This is a special model by yours truly. You know the Organization love tinkering with vessels," Rauxdi said with a smirk as she slowly stood up from the platform and stretched her back, holding her lance over her head.

"Baymax..." The kid said as the reality of his friend being turned into a dark vessel made Dark Riku chuckle.

"Don't bother. This puppet has lost his heart. He won't wake up," Dark Riku explained as that statement seemed to push the wrong buttons on the kid.

"He's not a puppet! Baymax, he's like my family!"

Rauxdi stopped stretching her back as she stood with her back facing the crowd. She could hear the confusion and sadness in the kid's voice. She closed her eyes before she took a deep sigh.

"Please! Give me back my friend!"

_Son of a bitch, I'm definitely going to get punished for this_, Rauxdi thought to herself as she heard the kid's pleas. She slowly turned her head to see what was going behind her back before Riku just smirked in a sinister manner.

"Yes... I did promise I'd put this back where I found it," Riku said with a smile as he slowly approached the empty Baymax vessel as he shook the chip in hand. As the chip left his hand and started to move towards the robot, the microchip was suddenly pierced by a flying object as it landed at Hiro's feet.

Everyone blinked in surprise, Dark Riku included before they recognized broken microchip parts were in a 'crater' around the lance sticking out of the building.

"Oops..." Everyone turned their attention to Rauxdi, the redhead Nobody looked down at the crowd with her heterochromatic eyes looking down at them with a self-righteous smile on her face, "Sorry Riku, my hand slipped."

"You... Dammit, Rauxdi!" Riku snarled about to lunge at Rauxdi but she dashed forward and dodged a blow from his Soul Eater.

She grabbed her lance from where it pierced the ground and turned around to find Riku had fled through a dark corridor. She almost dashed forward to chase after her shitty coworker but was stopped by someone shouting, "Wait!"

Rauxdi saw the dark corridor close as she stood up straight, letting her lance prop up against her shoulder. "Ah... Thank you for protecting up from Riku and uh... Baymax," Sora said as he stepped forward before Rauxdi turned to glance at him with her one blue eye.

"I didn't do it for you Sora," Rauxdi grumbled as she let her lance diminish into thin air. The kid dressed in purple appeared to slowly step forward before rushing past her to take a look at the Baymax Vexen and Dark Riku modified.

Sora glanced from her back to his friend Hiro before he smiled. "Well, I still want to say thank you!"

"Oh boy, don't even thank me yet. You still have a message to deliver for me. Remember, _you_ were supposed to defeat him and if you didn't..." Rauxdi flashed a wicked grin as Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked at her in shock.

"But... That's cheating because you sent him away!" Sora whined as Rauxdi crossed her arms over her chest, "Oh quit your whining. I know that Audri is in cahoots with you all now. She's branded a traitor so getting a message to her is hard enough as it is."

Sora stopped pouting for a moment as he saw the solemn look of remorse crossing her face. He glanced at Donald and Goofy as he nodded, "Sure thing, what's the message?"

* * *

"Well, I best be off," Rauxdi said as she placed the sunglasses back over her eyes as Sora followed her out of Hiro's garage. She spent most of her time giving the trio specific instructions in regards to Audri instead of helping Sora's new world friends with their big mushy marshmallow friend.

"Wait! Uh... Rauxdi right?" Sora asked as Rauxdi summoned a dark corridor. "What up ya brat?"

"What's Audri to you? Is she like a girlfriend?" Rauxdi blinked before walking over to flick him on the forehead hard enough to leave a scratch.

"No, you big idiot! She's like a... sister and friend. Like... I know you've met Ansem and Xemnas, Audri and I... Our connection is similar to that as we're both a Heartless and Nobody from the same body..."

_Except for the part where the Heartless never left the original body_, Rauxdi kept her final part of her explanation to herself as it didn't make sense. No matter how they've looked or tried to explain it, it just didn't make sense.

"Oh! I get it, I'm sorry that I thought otherwise! I just... Never met a Nobody who worried a lot," Sora explained as he jammed his hands into his pockets.

Rauxdi just blinked before laughing as she walked towards the edge of the corridor as she spoke, "I'm just an idiot that grew a heart. Nothing more..."

"But... I know you saved us when Audri was under Xemnas' control!" Rauxdi stopped in her tracks as he glanced over her shoulder to see Sora, Donald, and Goofy were all standing there; guess to see why the goodbye was taking so long probably. Sora glanced away before looking up with confidence in his words, "I know there's some good in you, right?"

"Like I said before Sora," Rauxdi said pushing her sunglasses back onto her head before leaving the keyblade wielder and his companions on the streets of San Fransokyo, "I'm not doing it for you."

As she exited on the other side of the corridor, she came face to face with three individuals: Young Master Xehanort, Terra-Xehanort, and Dark Riku.

She just glanced down for a second and smirked with a predatory grin, "So he ratted me out for fucking up your vessel research."

"You did it on purpose, you bi-"

"Riku, leave."

Terra-Xehanort commanded, putting fear and confusion into the young vessel's heart until he glared down the boy. Dark Riku flinched for a moment before fleeing through a dark corridor.

"I would think you like getting punished by us for you to really fuck up a mission such as babysitting," Young Xehanort said with a smirk as he stepped forward dragging his hands along her shoulders.

"Sue me, I want to be as much as a trouble maker as Audri is, but doing it inside of the Organization," Rauxdi said with a satisfied look on her face as Terra-Xehanort chuckled, both men closing in on her.

"Such a pity. Guess you'll have to learn the hard way to stay in line," Terra-Xehanort whistled before Young Master Xehanort gripped her hair tightly and forced the redhead on her knees before the dominating men.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, why I'm putting a Disney character that wasn't even if any of the Kingdom Hearts series?  
Believe me, trying to tie together events from now until the end of the series has been a little difficult. 
> 
> And the fact that I threw my original idea out of the window for the next chapter, I decided to incorporate the character for a chapter since I couldn't think of many dark arts villains that were already overused by the franchise already.  
I realized that where I was going with things earlier, I needed to have something that was a staple from a Disney Era that exists in some way.
> 
> Plus, Princess and the Frog was fucking bomb.


	28. The Siren's Call

_One week ago..._

"Your turn Audri, just try and cast a Fira spell!"

"You can do it kiddo, no sweat," Axel said with a smirk as he stood behind me at the little dirt drawn boundary. Axel, Kairi, and I was out in the middle of the field away from the cottage we were all staying at. We were doing some spell casting today and I've been putting off practice according to them.

It's been a week since Master Xehanort and the other cornered me for my blood. Xemnas made me stay with him for the night in Castle Oblivion after he found me. I spent most of the night waking up from night terrors about the apparition of myself from the mirror.

Those pink eyes and the claws... I can't seem to shake them from my mind. And yet...

It felt like something was trying to psyche me out.

After I woke up from the restless night, I slipped away and made my way back to Kairi and Axel, getting lectured and wanting to know where I went in the first place.

I tried to explain, but I didn't want to explain why I left and ended up in a real sticky situation. With the wound in my abdomen, they probably were sure I got into a fight with someone, somewhere.

And that brings up back to today. Axel woke up saying that he wanted us to work on spellcasting. He noticed that I've been slacking off. And it's not like he was wrong, I just... I wasn't exactly comfortable with using magic lately.

I opened my eyes as I looked across the way from me to see three badly made scarecrows about fifty feet away from me.

"Just practice on making a fireball and try to practice on your aim," Axel said as Kairi ran along the side of the makeshift boundary before disappearing out of the corner of my eye. As the flicker of her pink outfit exited my frame of vision, I could feel my body tense up for a moment, like I was getting pulled into another nightmare.

"You got this Audri!" Kairi's voice called to me, reassuring that it was just her and I wasn't in the middle of a dream. I held my hands out in front of me and took a deep breath.

I could feel something bubbling in my chest before zipping through my body and out of my palms. I could feel something in my vision flickered pitch black before I barked, "Fira!"

Instead of bright and colorful red flames, multiple dark projectiles shot from my hands and directed the attack at the three scarecrows, blowing them out of the ground. The three of us just looked up and panicked as we saw them coming towards us.

"Oh hell no, incoming!!" Axel cursed as he and Kairi took cover behind a tree while I dodge rolled out of the way of the shredded remains of the scarecrow.

After a minute, I slowly looked up from the training field to see tons of straw littered over the field with Axel and Kairi stepping away from their cover to see a burnt pile of straw.

"Does that count as a Fire spell?" I asked slowly as Axel helped me to my feet with a shake of his head, "Not even close! I would say you relied on the darkness for that type of... projectile attack."

"But it did set some of the scarecrows on fire!" Kairi said trying to gesture to the pile of straw she was stomping out with her foot. I just sighed hanging my head as I felt my fingers twitch erratically.

"But... I'm not trying to call upon the darkness. It's like I can't seem to control what's a normal spell and well... that," I said before looking up at Axel and Kairi with a look of disappointment on my face, "Does this mean I'm just unteachable?"

Axel and Kairi looked at me with a frown on their face. "Hey, it's okay! Maybe you just need more practice, Axel is a good teacher!" Kairi said with a smile as she turned towards Axel, seeing that he was taken aback by her compliment before turning away embarrassed. I sighed before slowly blinking and gasping in sudden realization.

"Kairi?! W... When did you cut your hair and get new clothes?! I mean, they're cute and all, but it's..."

Kairi blinked as Axel smiled glancing over at the young keyblade wielder, "Oh that? You must have been really out of it this week. She got the outfit from Yen Sid and is finally trying it out! I have one too but... I'm just not ready to wear it yet."

"Oh shit, that's pretty rad then if Yen Sid is making people clothes. Think I'll get something as an honoree Guardian?" I asked as Axel and Kairi glanced between each other surprised.

"I... Don't know actually. Riku had dropped these off before you came to stay and practice with us. The instructions were 'You'll be ready when your training is finished' or something like that," Kairi explained as I placed my hands on my hips. "Hm, I guess it makes sense if it's taken a lot of time to make them..."

Before Axel started to speak up, I could hear a familiar ringing coming from my pocket. "Huh? Oh, I wonder who's calling my line..." I asked as I fished my gummiphone out of my pocket and pressed the answer button. Ienzo's face appeared on the screen as he waved in a friendly manner, "Oh you answered finally! I need to catch you up on some information regarding So-"

"Ah, give me a minute! Hang on," I said as I quickly covered my phone screen before looking at Kairi and Axel, "I'm going to take this call. Important... Uh, confidential business?" "Go ahead, tell Ienzo I say hi!" Kairi said with a smile as I turned to make a dash up the hill.

After getting enough distance between the two redheads, I uncovered my screen and looked at Ienzo laughing nervously, "Sorry, I didn't want Axel and Kairi to overhear what you found out about Sora's heart... I saw your messages, but I was confused by Ansem the Wise's notes."

"He's going by that name again? Oh well... Alright then," Ienzo said as he glanced away in deep thought before he snapped back to reality with a solemn look on his face, "Right. About Sora's heart, it seems he's connected to Roxas' and Ventus, according to your and Sora's observation after running into Vanitas. There's another third heart connected to him as well!"

"Any idea on who it might be?" I asked as Ienzo placed the phone down for a moment as I heard the loud clacking noises of the keyboard going. "Well, I have a hunch of who might know more about the possible third heart... But you're going to have to be stealthy about it," Ienzo said as he suddenly picked the gummiphone back up.

"Who do I have to ask?"

* * *

"Heyyyyyyyyyyyy-"

The door was slammed into my face as I stood in the underground hallways of Castle Oblivion.

I just frowned and knocked on the door again aggressively. "What do you want, go away!" A muffled voice screeched from the other side of the wall.

Rolling my eyes, I spoke up, "I'm here about the Replica Program."

The door swung open with full force as I found myself looking up at Vexen's disheveled appearance.

"Why are you asking? Did you kill another one of Xehanort's vessels?" I could hear the level of panic in his voice as I shook my head, "I... I heard that you had a replica that was to be used in Sora's place. How come I've never heard about it?"

Vexen's eyes went wide before he pulled me inside of the lab and closed the door behind him.

He turned to face me as I could see his golden orbs boring down into me, "I don't know why you need to know but I guess I can amuse you for a price."

"I'm not having sex with y-"

"Absolutely not with you."

"Then you have yourself a deal. Wait, what's wrong with me?"

"A lot," Vexen sneered before turning to the small bookshelf on the other side of the room and pulled a book out label 'No. i' on the spine.

He handed it over to me as he began to speak, "They were the first success. Before going to Castle Oblivion, I was working on a replica that would be named No. i. They were to absorb Sora's abilities through Roxas as a third party."

As I flipped through the contents of the Scientist's notes, I could see the extensive notes of testing that was done on this replica. Something about it seemed to unnerve me while I looked through the notes.

Vexen's rambling seemed to die down the minute I came across something scribbled in the margins next to a single picture of what looked like a young girl with black hair and deep blue eyes. There was another photo right next to it with her standing between Roxas and Axel.

"...Xion?" I mumbled under my breath, apparently loud enough that Vexen stopped and took the photo from my hands as I lifted it out of the book. "That was the name she was given. She was to be part of Organization XIII as Number XIV."

"What happened? How come I don't remember any of this happening or being talked about when I lived with everyone else?"

"There... was an incident," Vexen said as he glanced away from my face as he placed the photo back in the book I held onto.

"We tried to see what would happen when Roxas and Xion met. They clicked but... it went south immediately. She tried to absorb Roxas' powers and being into her. We tried to bring Axel in to help separate the two and instead... they all became friends."

I could see Vexen's eyes flicker as he hesitated with his next words as he spoke, "We let them battle it out as we decided the stronger keyblade wielder would be our only resource. Roxas, well he... He proved his worth."

I closed the book and handed it over to Vexen. As Vexen placed the book on the shelf, I spoke up. "If that's the case, I think that her 'heart' was absorbed into Roxas, and then absorbed into Sora," I said out loud as Vexen turned to face me in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

I sighed as I slowly began to tell Vexen the truth on what Ienzo had been working on, what he was uncovering, and what was going on with Sora's heart.

Vexen crossed his arms over his chest before he spoke up, "Interesting boy that Sora... Perhaps, you will be able to help me out Audri. There's... something I am needing to do, but I can't get physically involved without drawing suspicion. Plus, it's not like I will be here for much longer."

I raised an eyebrow as he continued to speak, "Will you help me save my teacher Ansem the Wise?"

"He's... Wait, what do you mean by you can't..."

I stopped as I realized it before the words left my tongue.

I stepped forward as I asked in a hushed tone like someone else could be watching from the shadows, "Are you sure about this? Even if I did, where could I even find him?"

"Yes I am. Although, about his whereabouts... I heard that Ansem went to the realm of darkness and came across him there. Rauxdi went with him on this fetch quest and came to me afterward to tend to her injuries," Vexen said as he shifted his gaze from mine.

"What type of injuries did she get from the Realm of Darkness?" I asked, feeling like this was a suicide mission before Vexen felt a small smirk twitch onto his face.

"She... Rauxdi said that Ansem gave them to her."

I felt my hand twitch as a surge of rage suddenly washed throughout my body.

Vexen could have sworn that he saw Audri's irises glowing pink for a moment before I started to speak, "Well then..."

I slapped my fingers against the palm of my hand before looking up at Vexen with a calm yet enraged look on my face, "How can I help?"

* * *

_Four days later..._

Ansem walked with his old Master towards the Abandoned Mansion in Twilight Town. He was more focused on getting answers from a teacher that had nothing but secrets to hide after all this time.

_I need to know what he did_, He thought to himself before he heard the footsteps behind him stop. He slowly turned around to look at the weary blonde man, Ansem the Wise looking disheartened.

"What now?" Ansem asked his old Master as the man's gaze flickered to the windows above them. His softened gaze seemed to have a look of guilt before he spoke, "Please. I have created enough victims."

Ansem felt his blood boil as he responded, "Yes, you have. All the children sacrificed in the name of your research... So make things right." The flicker he saw on his Master's face said all as he could see the defiance crossing over his eyes.

"I told you I did not take her," Ansem the Wise stated as he continued, "Her disappearance was why I put a stop to the research."

Ansem stepped forward as he felt his anger was slipping out of control, "And that makes you honorable?"

"You used Roxas and Namine and threw them away. I doubt there's a merciful bone in your body," He started to speak as he stopped a mere few feet from his Master, "You took the girl and hid her. Now..."

He turned around facing the Abandoned Mansion's walls, "Show me the data you are hiding here."

Ansem heard the old Master speak behind him, "Roxas and Namine... If there is any reason that I still draw breath, it is to atone for what I did to them."

Those words angered Ansem.

He turned back to see his old Master ask a question, "If you do find the girl, what is it that you expect will happen?"

"The child's memory holds a mystery to unravel... One concerning the battle we seek between light and darkness," Ansem slowly stepped past his teacher as he could feel something flicking into this world from a distance away.

He couldn't put a finger onto it but he carried on, "You know something and that... is why you stopped the experiments."

Ansem the Wise turned around with a look of disgruntlement on his face, "You are completely deluded, Xehanort."

"We shall soon see." Ansem just smirked as he stepped forward and forced his Master ahead of him about to walk into the Mansion. Before he made it halfway through the corridor, he heard a crunching noise coming from behind him.

Ansem stopped as both he and his master turned around to see a dark corridor opening up with a black hooded figure looking down at the ground, concealing their face as a mass of deep magenta chains draped on both sides of their jean-hugging hips.

"Who-" Ansem stopped speaking as he immediately called his Guardian Heartless in front of him and his Master to block an onslaught of a projectile attack from the oncoming chains. The chains split off as they immediately retracted back to the mysterious user.

"You..." A distorted voice slipped from the stranger's lips.

Ansem ground his teeth as he saw the user raise their hooded head for him to come face to face with Audri with glowing magenta eyes as veins of darkness crawled along her face, "What did you do to Rauxdi?!"

* * *

I slowly snuck through Twilight Town's forest as I could sense Ansem's darkness the minute I entered the world. I couldn't recognize the other scent with him, but I knew I had to be on the right track. Zipping the black hoodie all the way up seemed to ease the anxiety I felt bubbling inside of my chest.

I soon made myself over to the clearing at the end of the forest path and could see the Twilight Town trio was peeking over at the Mansion entrance. I raised an eyebrow before teleporting over.

"Sup gang, what type of vandalism are you up to this time?" I asked as I scared the shit out of Hayner, Pence, and Olette that they had to clamp a hand over each others' mouths. They turned around and looked at me with wide eyes as Pence spoke first, "Who- Wait... Audri? What's with the getup? When did you come back to town?"

"See a weird silver-haired man with a black coat walking about?" I asked trying to keep my voice down to a whisper as Hayner nodded gesturing to the Abandoned Mansion, "We were actually waiting for someone to come to the Mansion. Lucky for you, the guy you described, and another old man just walked in."

_I guess I'm on the right track..._

I snapped out of my thoughts as Olette looked at me worried, "Are you okay? When did you get all those scars?"

I felt a forced smile creep to my face before pulling my hood over my head, "Doesn't matter. I need your guys' help. Come on, let's get up there!"

"C-can't we get an explanation?" Hayner gasped out loud a few minutes later as Hayer, Pence, Olette, and I hid against the walls of the Mansion.

"It's a... rescue mission. Kind of a long story," I said trying to get them to whisper as I motioned for Olette to take to her place before dragging Hayner along.

I slowly crept towards the courtyard entrance as I started to take a deep breath, concealing all of the darkness before it solidified into heavy metal chains that dragged on the floor behind my back. _This is going to hurt a lot, but I can't seem to hold anything back anymore_, I thought to myself, placing my hands along the brick wall to see my hands were turning black as the abyss.

I let low a low whistle as I heard Ansem's voice.

"... is why you stopped the experiments."

"You are completely deluded Xehanort." My vision flickered for a second as the voice sounded... faintly familiar but I couldn't put a pin into it.

"We shall soon see," Ansem's voice spoke in irritation as she heard the movement of footsteps. I stepped out as I could feel the darkness was starting to escape from my mouth in a puff of smoke.

_Not what I originally had in mind but this better work_, I thought to myself as I lowered my head, feeling the rage swelling out of me. I closed my eyes before everything went dark.

* * *

"Heh, I see that you need my old Master for some reason. Would it because of your 'condition?'" Ansem taunted the feral and erratic Heartless girl in front of him. To be honest, they've been fighting for a good few minutes ever since her teenage accomplices helped Ansem the Wise escape, leaving him and Audri to fight in the ruined courtyard.

Audri's pink eyes flickered through the darkness as her face was masked before she stood back, trying to plan the next blow on him.

Ansem could taste the blood rising in his mouth. _If I keep fighting against her, I'm going to lose... I've already lost Master Ansem,_ Ansem cursed himself before he called the Heartless Guardian back to the shadows.

If he was correct, he could see that Audri was acting more erratic and less on target as the seconds go by.

_If I could get her to be pinned down for one second, then I can finally try that new restraint..._

Ansem flicked his hand before he saw Audri's next move of her lunging at him took a more sluggish turn as she seemed to change from an open slash to a closed fist.

He took the opportunity to dodge the attack and summon his Guardian in the spot where she would have landed, grasping her in his massive hands and restraining her tightly.

Audri let out a type of choked scream in pain as Ansem knew that the Guardian was holding her as tight as possible, probably breaking bones in the process just to keep her still.

_I got one shot to pin her_, He thought to himself as he pulled a small gold band with an onyx black stone from his pocket and slide it over his gloved hand. Ansem snapped his fingers as his eyes started to glow yellow as he spoke, "At ease my dear. Why not stand down?"

The moment the suggestion left Ansem's lips, Audri's powers diminished until the darkness was swallowed up into the Guardian, powering him with overflowing darkness.

Audri's eyes shifted between the golden amber and the magenta pink. She let out a gasp like the wind was knocked out of her.

"W...what the fuck was that... What did you do?" Audri spoke as she looked up at the Seeker of Darkness in confusion and horror as he stepped forward, realizing that she was in a stable mindset now.

He smirked as he forcefully grabbed her chin as he tilted her face up towards the sky, "I received a lovely gift in being able to control the darkness in your heart."

"What? To control a person's will to that extent... even that type of power is out of Xehanort's hands."

Audri scoffed as Ansem let go of her chin and brushed his hand against her scarred cheek, cupping it firmly against her face as the blood escapes the reopened wounds.

"I had some help from a... very old colleague who knows something about the dark arts and tainted souls like yours," Ansem said as his eyes flickered across her face before pulled back his hand to leave Audri's head drooped forward as she is restrained by the Guardian.

"Now, why are you here after me and why did you take my hostage away?"

The smirk on Audri's face irritated the man as she lifted her head to glare at him.

"I'm here because of what you did to Rauxdi. Vexen told me all about what happened," She said, her words seemed to have a hard time leaving her chest as her breathing was getting shallower due to having very little lung capacity.

Ansem stepped forward in stride, dismissing the Guardian as it disappeared into the shadows while he pinned Audri by the neck against the brick wall of the Abandoned Mansion.

"Why do I feel like there's more to your little story?" He hissed, tightening his grip as Audri clutched at his wrist and hands around her throat, as she tried to kick him back.

"Like I'll fucking say anything to you," Audri snarled as he could see the light of pink was returning to her eyes. Ansem growled as the light from the ring on his finger and in his eyes glowed as he spoke, "Why don't we have some fun instead?"

The light disappeared in Audri's eyes as he leaned forward and claimed her lips against his.

The foul taste of blood and dark essence slipped into both of their mouths as he fought for dominance, Audri's hands clawed at the front of his coat. Ansem's other hand slide down between her legs as he stroke his thumb against her windpipe.

He slowly pulled back from the kiss and whispered in a deep voice into Audri's ear as she whimpered, feeling his fingers rubbing tightly against her heated core.

"Doesn't it feel good, submitting to me and just letting me take control? You can't win while I control the darkness," Ansem groaned as he took a small step forward to pin her body with his own before she dropped her hands to her side.

Ansem smirked, taking this a sign of her submission as he tilted his head to the side to get a better look at her face.

"You know..."

A smile graced her lips as she looked up at him with her eyes burning brightly with the heat of the sunset overhead.

"I'm actually straddling the fence. Been told it's a terrible idea."

With a flash, Ansem doubled back, clutching the side of his left face as he could feel the searing pain ripping through the tendons and muscles along his jawline and eye.

He looked up with his good eye menacingly before seeing Audri leaning against the Mansion's wall with Ends of the Earth in her hand, casting itself with orange light; flickering in her hands like an unstable static connection.

"What? How did you-" Ansem's words were cut off as Audri lunged forward, bringing Ends of the Earth behind her head for another strike. Ansem pulled up both arms, just to feel his body drenched in darkness.

Confused, he looks to see the shattered remains of the ring he was using against Audri was in pieces from the keyblade's attack, releasing all of the darkness connected to Audri's blood into the air like a smoke bomb.

As the darkness swept up into the air like a gust of wind took it away, Ansem found himself standing in the Abandoned Mansion courtyard, with no sign of Audri around.

Ansem thought about going to track her down, but he reached his hand up to his face as the pain started to echo under his skin from her attack.

_When did she start swinging around that wretched keyblade? But... For the pieces to bind Audri's will to be shattered just by the power of light... I need to warn the others about their pieces, _Ansem thought to himself as he summoned a dark corridor to go tend to his wounds.

* * *

"May your heart be your guiding-"

Yen Sid's speech was interrupted as he sees Audri's body tumbling out of a dark corridor, lying in a disheveled mess on his floor.

Mickey and Riku were just was horrified by the scene as they see Audri slowly rolling onto her back as she coughed blood into her hand.

She slowly glanced around the room from where she lied and brought her hand up making a small salute, "G'Evening men. I would say I'm training but I'd be a dirty liar."

"Audri!" Mickey rushes over as Riku kneels down, pulling his keyblade out casting Cura on her wounds. Some of the lighter scratches seem to heal as she slowly sat up, lying against the wall next to the bookshelf.

"What happened to you?" Riku asked, feeling on edge to see someone he had a boiling dislike for simmering down. Riku realized he's seen Audri beaten and bloodied more than anyone else he's come across.

"Pissing off a Seeker to get rescue an ally. But that's not why I brought myself here," She said with a smirk on her face before Mickey handed her a Mega-Potion.

She gladly took and poured over the top of her head to heal the remaining wounds crossing her face.

Yen Sid look concerned as the Heartless girl in front of his slowly got to her feet with Riku's help as she looked at him with a plea of help crossing her face, "They found a way to make me turn on all of you."

After a lengthy explanation of why I left the training grounds and explaining the details of my fight with Ansem; Yen Sid, Mickey, and Riku stood there nervously as I leaned against the wall across from all of them.

Somehow... I felt like leaving out the part where I summoned Terra's keyblade since I felt it wasn't the best time to answer more questions regarding that.

"That is troubling if you do fight with us in the final battle as an ally," Mickey said after a moment, I could see the fear and worry crossing the mouse's face.

Riku nodded as he turned to Yen Sid, who seemed to keep his eyes closed while drumming his fingers on the table in front of him.

"If... Xehanort would not just let his one trump card be left in the hands of one of his own. There must be more pieces out there that can control this darkness in your heart," Yen Sid explained as he looked up after a moment of silence.

"I wouldn't put it past them to not have backups. What can we do, tell Audri to go hide until they find her and use her?" Riku asked as I stepped forward scowling, "I've been training with Axel and Kairi for a while now. You can't just have me stand by after all of this!"

"Master Yen Sid, would it be possible to make something for Audri to ward off the effects?" Mickey said turning to the retired Master behind the table. Yen Sid nodded as he turned to the three of us.

"Mickey, Riku. It is best to delay your mission to the Realm of Darkness for a few days. I would like Audri to go with you. She will probably need time to recover most of her strength."

Yen Sid slowly shifted his gaze to me as I felt my back stiffen up, "They have been looking for Master Aqua, but I think if you can help ward the Heartless away, they might be able to pick up her trail better."

I blinked slowly and smiled as I placed my left hand over my heart before making a short bow, "Of course Master Yen Sid."

"You are dismissed."

Riku and Mickey followed me out of the room, making sure that I was able to walk as I stumbled over my own feet.

Once the door closed behind them, a small pile of fabric and metal appeared on the desk in front of Yen Sid.

Yen Sid's eyes did not falter for a second as he could remember seeing the orange aura around the Heartless' body as she bowed, reading it as a sign of hope and light that protected her.

"I did not think it would come down to this... But maybe the stars are meant for many signs of what is yet to come, not what is to be," Yen Sid spoke to himself as he began to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I started to rewrite and create the story late last April back on Fanfiction.net, I realized halfway through Divide and Conquer that I left out Xion's arc entirely. Kind of swept it under the rug until Phoenix in the Dark. It was hard to make a good backstory that was more or less non-canonical because of the earlier writings.
> 
> So I went with a semi-Frankenstein's Monster approach where it was a hidden secret that didn't get far even as a success. I wish that I was more connected and inspired by the females of the KH universe but they're the hardest to write about without it getting too fucking gnarly.
> 
> But as much as I really REALLY wanted to write in Pirates of the Carribean, with how burnt out KH3 made me feel after all of the worlds, it was a little rough to finish the last Disney-based world.


	29. The Forgotten Master

_"You definitely pushed yourself too far the other day. If Terra didn't help summon his keyblade to help you escape, would you have kept pushing your body until your heart was extinguished?"_

_I blinked before turning around to find myself facing the young blonde girl standing on a stained glass staircase._

_I looked around me to find that I was floating in the dark abyss._

_As I turned to look at her, she was already heading up the swirling staircase to nowhere._

_"H-hold on!" I called out as I ran over and stepped onto the glass staircase. As I caught up with her, I found that she was looking off into the dark abyss with a frown on her face._

_"You know... You have great darkness lingering on your heart from your own will. Will you be alright?" She asked as I looked down at her as I stood on the same step._

_I placed a hand over my chest as I took a step forward down the staircase. I turned around and looked down at her concerned expression._

_She definitely reminds me so much of Kairi, I thought to myself as I felt the solemn expression rest on my face._

_"I don't know. I don't think I've ever been okay, It's like..." I paused for a second as I looked up at the faint trickle of light far above our heads from who knows how many lightyears away._

_The blonde cocked her head to the side as I continued, "It's like all the darkness I pushed away for so long, it's eating me from the inside out and it's killing to take over. If I wasn't a Heartless-"_

_"Would you like my help to contain it?"_

_"I doubt you can hold the Heartless back," I said as she walked along side of me with a pout on her face._

_"My powers are stronger than I look, with your connection to Sora and the others, I should be able to lock it away in your heart after some time."_

_I was taken aback by her words before I shook my head._

_"I wish I could agree so easily, but... Terra is lending me his strength so I can keep moving on. Even the darkness that lingered in his heart is keeping me from falling apart right now."_

_"But... Do you think it will be enough?" Her deep blue eyes softened with concern as I could hear my name being called from above like the light was beckoning me._

_"Time to wake up," The girl said with a smile as I nodded, reluctantly racing up the spiral staircase towards the light..._

I slowly fluttered my eyes open as I could see the shadow of two distinct figures standing over me. "It's time to go see Master Yen Sid." I could hear Mickey's voice as I closed my eyes and rubbed my hands over them nodding.

"Yeah, I'm up. I'm up, I was waiting for you guys to show up," I said slowly brushing the dust off of my clothes while slowly getting to my feet.

Riku raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms over his chest, "How long were you waiting for us for?"

"Don't remember. Must have been long enough for me to doze off," I replied as I stretched my back, realizing that sitting against the tower doors wasn't the most comfortable spot on the world.

Then again, Yen Sid forbad me from coming into his study unless I brought Riku and Mickey up for mission details.

"Well, let's head on in then!" Mickey said with a smile as I pushed the tower doors open. Riku waited for me to step inside before placing a hand on my shoulder.

I glanced back at him with curiosity before he spoke up, "Are you sure you're feeling up for it?"

I nodded and gave him a thumbs-up, "Don't worry, let's go."

* * *

"Riku, Mickey, Audri. Thank you for coming before you take off."

Yen Sid sat in the chair across from us as we stood next to each other. I crossed my arms over my chest as I tapped my foot nervously, "No problem. Is there anything that I'll need to be filled in with before we leave?"

"Riku and Mickey can go over it once you arrive in the Realm of Darkness. However-"

Yen Sid casts his hand over the desk and a deep lilac-colored suitcase appeared before the three of them, "I was able to have garments created for you so you will be able to fend off further dark influences. The magic is only as strong as your own will."

I stepped forward as I grabbed the suitcase's handle and pulled it off the desk with a smile. "Thank you," I said with a small bow before returning to my comrade's side.

"Please prepare yourself while I speak with Riku and Mickey," Yen Sid said as I sighed, taking that as a sign that there were more information I would be in the dark about.

"I'll get going then," I said as I turned towards the doorway and stopped by the bookcase. I felt something from the good luck charm get warm under my wrist as I scanned the bookcase. "I'll take this book and wait downstairs!" I said with a smile sliding the small book from the bookcase as I slipped out of the tower study.

As I stepped down the staircase, I could feel the corded charm bracelet was starting to glow a low purple light. I smiled as I brushed my fingers over it and started to speak while continuing down towards the entrance.

"Hey Terra, why did you want me to pick up this book?" I asked out loud as translucent orange stars sparkled around my head from thin air.

_"I've seen a book like that before during my studies to become a Keyblade Master. It's all about illusionary magic,"_ Terra's voice echoing in the air around me as I finally made it down to the tower entrance.

"Do I really need to read it? I would like to assume that I've been doing quite well with calling your keyblade to my side, even for a temporary fight," I said with a pout as I placed the suitcase on top of a chest lying under the staircase, clicking it open to see what was inside.

_"It's not for fighting. I thought maybe..."_

Terra's voice kind of seemed to trail off as he started blurting out nonsense in a panicked manner, _"W-What are you doing?!"_

"Huh? You can see me right now?" I asked curiously as I started to strip down in the middle of the tower entryway.

_"I c-can for the moment while we talk but what if someone else comes in?!"_

"Oh relax, it'll be just a second. Or you know, you can close your eyes," I said with a grin as I rummaged through the suitcase and started putting on the clothes Yen Sid created.

_"You are just so..."_

"Just what?"

_"...Nevermind,"_ Terra's voice said in a quiet tone as I adjusted the tight-fitting shirt and pulling up the shorts accompanied from the suitcase.

"I'm mostly covered if you want to look," I said in a teasing tone as I just heard a deep sigh. Strangely enough, it felt like I could feel hot air being exhaled against my ear.

I just clamped my hand over my ear and looked around to see nothing but the orange stars around me. I looked into the suitcase again to make sure I had everything and raised an eyebrow.

"Hm... Hey Terra? How do I put this on?"

_"Put what on?"_

I pulled what looked like a small armor piece that looked similar to Terra's, or at least how I've seen it on Terra-Xehanort's body.

It had a deep grey shoulder plate with ruffled silver fabric hanging off the bottom of it. On the middle of the shoulder plate was a small apple-sized jewel that was shining with a lilac light radiating from it.

_"Oh, that? It's uh... There's usually a connecting metal strap. Try placing it on your shoulder like you've seen how mine usually looks,"_ Terra tried to explain as I tried to remember what side his shoulder armor was on.

I shifted it with my right arm and slowly placed it over my left shoulder, "Like this?"

Before Terra could answer, a tight pressure wrapped around my bicep before the silver fabric grew a few inches to barely cover my elbow and more fabric wrapped the armor piece to my arm like a tight-fitting sleeve.

"Huh, that was a weird feeling," I said slowly clenching my fist before hearing footsteps coming down the staircase.

"I promise I'll read the book, I might need your help later though." I whispered quietly to the orange stars before hearing Terra whisper "Stay safe" and the connection disconnected.

"Audri, you ready to go?" I hear Riku's voice as I could see two pairs of feet coming down the winding staircase.

"Y-Yeah, ready whenever you guys are!" I called out with a smile as I could see Mickey and Riku's faces as they looked surprised by the outfit change.

"That's what Yen Sid made? Well..."

"As long as it keeps your safe is what matters, right?" Mickey asked as Riku glanced away sighing.

"If you say so. Come on, we got along way ahead of us."

* * *

"That was... weird. I didn't know keyblades could create still corridors to other realms," I said out loud as I jumped through the corridor, landing on the other side next to Riku. Riku raised an eyebrow as I dusted myself off like the light was infectious, "What do you mean 'still'? Have you seen it before?"

I paused for a second before putting a hand to my mouth realizing that I was referencing the memory I saw of Terra saving Ventus.

_I should still keep that to myself for now_, I thought to myself before speaking up waving my hand, "I think I saw someone else using it the other day, but I thought it was a... one-off type thing really."

Riku just shrugged his shoulders as Mickey jumped through the corridor as the realm of light disappeared without a trace, leaving the three of us to stand around in the Realm of Darkness.

"So, where do we start looking?" I asked, pulling my hair up into a messy bun, realizing I wish I had given myself a haircut before traveling today. "We can go back to the beach we stopped at last time. We felt Aqua's light but then it just vanished," Mickey explained as the two keyblade masters took charge in leading the way.

"That's strange, is it possible that something had happened to her or maybe someone is hiding her?" I asked as Riku shook his head as he and Mickey brandished their keyblades to their side.

"There's not much down here except for the Heartless the last we saw, although we had run into some massive... hoard and that's why we had to double back," Riku said quietly under his breath as he could remember the last time they came to the Realm of Darkness.

_A hoard? Shit, why did Yen Sid think I could stop a fucking hoard_, I thought to myself before laughing nervously, "Well, with the three of us here, we can take down whatever comes out way, right?" Riku and Mickey glanced back at me as I raised my fist in the air, trying to have an air of confidence.

Mickey nodded with a smile as Riku chuckled, "If I didn't know better, I'd say everyone has been rubbing off onto you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said with a pout, puffing my cheeks up as we continued down the road.

"I mean, maybe you're actually nice under all of that darkness squirming around in you," Riku commented as I came to a slow halt. I leaned my head down before looking at my right hand, seeing how ashen and black my fingers were compared to my other hand.

_I hope that I can be more than just a dwindling agent of darkness_, I felt the thought cross my mind as a frown crossed my face. I could feel the warmth of the good luck charm bracelet starting to glow, reminding me that I'm not facing this alone.

Suddenly, I could feel this sense of dread coming from behind me. I looked back over my shoulder to see a looming, disfigured shape in the distance slowly coming towards our direction.

"Shit," I muttered to myself as I picked up the pace and found Riku and Mickey just up ahead at the end of an endless ocean before us. "Riku, Mickey!"

They turned back to see me coming as I skated to a halt and turned my back towards the water, "We have company."

Riku and Mickey glanced past me to see the looming shadow and gripped their keyblades tighter as they could see the dark shape and all of the beady eyes of the Heartless in the odd-shaped tornado coming towards us.

"Think you can slow them down Audri?" Riku asked as he stepped forward with Braveheart in hand.

"I can try my best to support both of you, but at this size..."

"We didn't expect you to take it down alone," Mickey said as he stepped by my side wielding Star Cluster. I nodded as I held my hands up feeling sparks of dark fire at my fingertips, "Well, shall we then?"

* * *

"Fira!" I shouted as I dashed across the sandy beach to land a few dark volley attacks on the Demon Tower. It seemed to knock a few Heartless off, but not taking severe damage.

I grind my teeth as I glance over to see Riku and Mickey struggling as well.

_Shit... Is it time for me to get Terra's help with this one? But what about Aqua? Fuck, I can only summon the keyblade for a period of time..._ My thoughts were going frantic before I heard Riku shout my name.

I glanced over and quickly jumped out of the way as the Demon Tower tried to run me over like a runaway train.

"Shit, guys! It's coming back!" I called out as I could see the Demon Tower was flying my body and heading straight for Riku. "Riku, look!" Mickey called out, hoping to call the young keyblader's attention.

Riku realized that the Demon Tower was charging him head-on. He tried to pull Braveheart in front of him and found himself being pummeled back and tossed across the beach.

"Riku!!" Mickey shouted, I scrambled to my feet and dashing to his side, trying to help him up. I could feel the presence of the Demon Tower dwindled for a moment after it attacked Riku and I looked around frantically wondering where it was hiding.

I stopped as my eyes landed on the lone keyblade master, realizing what was happening. "Mickey, watch out!" I called out, feeling an overwhelming surge was forming under his feet.

A moment too late, Mickey could see the Heartless were surrounding him before they shot him up into the air as the Demon Tower swallowed him up. I just watched in panic as I could see Star Cluster flying down and landing in the sand a couple of yards away from where Riku and I were.

As I helped Riku up slowly, he realized what had happened as he started to call out in fear for his friend, "Mickey!"

A surge of wind suddenly picked up as the Demon Tower started to violently convulse and change shape. While Riku and I tried to hold our ground, we saw the Demon Tower started to form a massive ball of dark energy in the sky above us.

"Riku, what can we do now?" I asked in a panic as we watched the wind swirl around us as the ball seemed to get bigger in size slowly. Riku just stood there in awe and unsure of what would be their next move.

Before either of us said another word, the ball of darkness started to glow with a deep magenta hue before something shot out of it, encased in darkness before it landed on the beach.

As I took a look at the strange apparition that was slowly standing tall, Riku noticed that he could finally see Mickey was encased, trapped inside of the sphere as he slowly woke up.

I could feel my blood go cold when I saw the darkness-filled apparition was slowly walking across the beach and towards Mickey's Star Cluster.

It stopped at the blade's hilt and slow bent down to pick it up, inspecting the details before a voice echoed from the shadowy figure.

"This keyblade..."

Mickey seemed awake as we could hear him speak up in surprise, "Is it her?"

"Mickey..."

The voice spoke again, sound like a woman's voice as the darkness seemed to diminish from the apparition before we could see the back of a tall woman standing there as she faced the vast ocean before all of us.

From what I could see from the moonlight, she had pale blue and silver hair as her outfit was tattered, torn dripping in dark ink as her ashen hands clenched the keyblade hilt. When she turned around, I could see the look on her face.

Anger.

Rage.

Malice.

Her deep golden eyes said it all as she spoke.

"You're too late."

"Aqua?" I heard Riku asked as we slowly stood to our feet. I could feel the burning hot metal coming from the good luck charm, realizing that Terra was trying to reach me.

_Hold on Terra_, I thought to myself as I brushed my fingers against the purple sea glass star until I could see a small orange star in my peripheral vision before it nustled its way behind my left ear.

"What happened?"

The tone in Mickey's voice was of shock and concern before Aqua spoke, her eyes never leaving the three of us. "You abandoned me, that's what."

"Left me in this shadow prison for more than a decade, knowing what it would do to me..."

_"You did what?!"_ I could hear Terra's voice ringing through my head, making me place a hand to my forehead as I could feel his anger was starting to come out. _Oh god, Terra stay calm!_

The look Mickey had on his face told it all as he spoke so meekly, "I'm sorry. It's all my fault."

_"Yeah, no kidding..."_ Terra's commentary was a little on the nose as I rolled my eyes, knowing that as much as I wanted him to help me, he was going to have to put his anger aside right now.

Aqua slowly turned from Mickey's pitiful gaze with a sneer on her face as she walked towards the rolling tides as she continued to speak, "I reached this shore after endless wandering. Waited forever for help to arrive. But no one ever came."

"I lost my keyblade. Had no means of fighting my way back through the Heartless. You should have known that I was stranded." She continued by stepping out onto the water as she held onto Mickey's Star Cluster, making me realize instantly that she is probably one of the biggest threats to my existence compared to the Heartless right now.

I glanced over to see Mickey and Riku's faces as they looked so downcast as they heard her speak. Riku seemed to perk his head as Aqua asked, "Do you have any idea how lonely it is here?"

I could feel Terra starting to shout endlessly as Aqua spoke, "How frightening it is to have no one?"

"All that's left in my heart is misery and despair... and now, you can share it!" Aqua snapped as she turned around, brandishing Star Cluster, making me flinch for a moment as I could feel the waves of the keyblade's power ripping at my skin even from such a far distance.

I was about to speak up, but I stopped as I saw Riku hold his hand up and walk towards Aqua. He stopped at the edge of the rolling tides before he spoke, "There's no need. Got my own."

Riku slowly took a deep breath before he summoned Braveheart and stepped out onto the water, ready to take on the lost Keyblade Master.

"I need to help Mickey out while Aqua's distracted," I muttered to myself as I heard Terra retort back, _"But he's the reason Aqua is-"_

"I know Terra! But we're going to need all the help we can to get her back, right?" I hissed back under my breath before I glanced up to see Mickey was being dragged towards Aqua's darkness at a violent rate.

"Terra, are you with me or not? I need your help to break through to Aqua if you say this isn't really her." Terra's silence started to bother me as I held my left hand out, slowly grasping at the orange light in my hand as Ends of the Earth appears.

"Terra?"

_"Only because you're here helping her. Get ready,"_ Terra said as I could feel a flicker of darkness in my heart slip up. I nodded as I stepped forward to join Riku, "Anything for you Terra."

As I reached the edge of the water, I felt my right hand was instinctively pulled to active the jewel on the shoulder armor before being enveloped in bright light.

As I continued forward, I could see my vision was darkened as the visor covered my face as I could barely make out Aqua and Riku in front of me. Riku glanced behind him and looked surprised as I stepped next to his side.

"Whatever you're seeing, this better be kickass armor or I'm filing a complaint against Yen Sid," I said as I raised Ends of the Earth in a stance similar to Riku's. Riku seemed to slip out of his daze as he smirked, turning his attention to Aqua as Mickey was being swallowed up by a Demon Tower again, "It's something else alright."

"Riku, I'm only asking you nicely now because of how shit the situation is. Leave Aqua to me."

"What? But you-"

I turned my head to see the concerned look crossing over his face as I nodded, "I know. But you have a better chance freeing Mickey than me. I can stall and cover you for the meanwhile."

Riku nodded as he charged forward, "Be my guest. Just don't die on me."

"No you don't!" Aqua snarled as she dashed forward to cut Riku off from the Demon Tower. I lunged forward and swung Ends of the Earth to catch onto Star Cluster, interlocking the blades with Aqua.

"Sorry, but you're not going any further Aqua!" I called out as Aqua's eyes flickered down to my armor for a second before she jumped back with an aggressive stance.

"Another one with keyblade armor, yet you reek of darkness..." Aqua called out as I know that something about her caught my attention now.

"Is that what the old man cooked up for me? Remind me to give him my thanks," I said with a smirk as I could see bright orange stars encircling me and drifting into a hypnotic stance.

_"I can try to protect you the best I can but be careful. She became keyblade master for a reason,"_ Terra warned me as I could see Aqua starting to dash towards me across the rippling surface about to strike.

"If you can just numb the attacks she makes with the keyblade, that'd be the fucking swell!" I called out as I raised Ends of the Earth and meeting Aqua in the middle to clash blades with her.

"Why are you aiding these keyblade weilders? You're a being of darkness," Aqua asked as I could see her agitated expression reflecting against my visor.

"Really? I can't believe you're still on this light vs darkness crusade. The world outside has changed over the last decade," I said in an a jaded tone as she swung her leg and ripped her armored boot against my exposed leg.

I jumped back and held myself up on the keyblade as the water ripped on the surface around me, almost making me sink under the surface.

_"Are you alright?"_ Terra asked as I stood up, shaking off the pain from the now opening wound on my leg, "Could be better. Didn't realize you keyblade masters played dirty."

"Come on now, fight me and suffer!" Aqua called out as she started to summon a blizzard spell. "No you don't!" I dashed forward swinging Ends of the Earth behind my back and striking at Aqua's keyblade. She winced as she seemed to get bounced back by the shield the orange stars created at the last moment.

_"There's got to be another way to break through to her, any idea?"_ Terra commented as I glanced around to see Aqua was preparing for another spell, directing it over in Riku's direction as he fought against the Demon Tide.

"Nope, but I think I might have one way to slow her down," I said, releasing the keyblade as it dropped onto the water's surface and disappeared into the light before I bolted straight for Aqua.

_"Wait! What are you-"_ Terra's voices became muffled as I started deactivating the armor and summoned another round of dark volley. Aqua flinched as she directed the spell at the projectiles, causing a massive explosion.

_Perfect timing!_ I thought to myself as I jumped through the explosion and crossed my hands over my face as I felt a surge of darkness erupt from my chest as a magenta phantom chain shot out; piercing Aqua's shoulder as the smoke started to slowly clear.

"What?!" Aqua called out in surprise as I lunged forward with three more chains erupted from my chest as they pierced through her calves and her chest.

"Sorry Aqua, this is the only way to pin you down for now," I said feeling the energy being drained from me as I could feel Aqua trying to fight against my hold. I held my ground while Aqua held the keyblade over my crouched form before swinging down the blade, "Disappear!"

_"Aqua!! Stop!"_ Terra's voice rang through the air, which somehow stopped Aqua from attacking for a moment, puzzled by what she just heard. The orange stars reappeared around the two of us before a bright light surrounded the area.

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes as I could feel the ground under my feet beginning to shift. I found myself standing in a strange underground chamber. As I looked around, the building looked like it was on the verge of collapsing as a reflective gem barrier seemed to cover the walls, barely propping the formation up.

_Where is this place?_ I thought to myself before I could hear footsteps approaching. I held my breath as I could see a young woman crossing the threshold and walking past me.

She had deep blue colored hair with a worried look crossing her face. Her deep blue eyes were troubled as she walked up the small staircase at the end of the room and up to the giant mirror placed on the wall. I blinked slowly as I pieced her image together before dashing forward, standing a few feet away from her, "Is that Aqua?! Does this mean..."

"Never would have thought I'd become my own worst enemy." Aqua slowly spoke as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror. As I stepped forward, I could see that my own image was flickering like static within the mirror.

_Must be another memory then... T_he thought crossed my mind in a flash as I stood by watching Aqua. She let out a small defeated sign before reaching out to touch the mirror, "I've talked to myself a lot since falling into these shadows. But with the phantom, it's as though all of my doubts have gained a voice of their own."

_"Sound familiar?"_ I could hear Terra's voice for a moment, even though it sounded heavily muffled through the dream.

Aqua glanced away before looking back up at her reflection with a moment of surprise on her face as she spoke up, "She's the weakness in my heart." Aqua removed her hand from the mirror's glass as she turned around, trying to take a few steps back.

I could feel Aqua's thoughts echoing off of her as she walked past me, _"I know I'm alone here. Have the uncountable hours in the shadows whittled away the courage I never really had?" _Aqua turned around and held her hands tightly against in her as she looked at the floor with a downcasted expression.

"I'm losing this fight. The darkness has found the cracks in my heart."

_"Is this... the last apparition before it takes me over?" _Aqua's thoughts echoed in the cavern before I saw a bright light coming from the mirror before engulfing the room.

"Wait!" I called out, trying to race towards Aqua before I found myself deep within a darkened forest of uprooted trees, vines, and thick thorns everywhere. I could see Aqua slowly getting up to her feet with a plain keyblade in hand.

"Where to now?" I said quietly hoping that the memory would lead me along. As if it answered my question, I saw Aqua racing forward through an arched rock way. I chased after her and came to a crumbling stop as I could see Aqua approaching two figures on the distance.

_There's no way it's them..._

"Terra, Ven!" Aqua called out in a fatigued voice, stopping feet away from the two of them. I held my breath as I saw Terra turned around to face her.

"Aqua, you're-" Terra's voice rang through the air, making me feel a pull towards the three figures as Aqua asked, "Terra. You spoke?"

The look of surprise on Terra's face made my chest ache as he responded back, "Can you see me?"

Aqua looked relieved as she nodded, "Of course! I see Ven too!" Terra looked surprised as he looked around him, not taking notice of the third, smaller figure standing next to him, "Ven? He's here?"

I stepped forward to stand between Terra and Aqua as she asked confused, "Terra, what's wrong? Don't you see him?"

"Where are we?"

"A world the darkness has consumed. It's Enchanted Dominion," Aqua explained nervously before the Terra stopped looking around and looked at his friend distraught, "Consumed? The worlds fell?"

"This would be a great time to give me an explanation on what the hell is going on here Terra," I said out loud, hoping that wherever he is, he would be able to answer me.

Instead, I was met with Aqua's voice breaking the silence as she began to speak with a nervous tone, "What's gotten into you? How do I know that you're Terra? And not the weakness in my heart playing more tricks?" She stepped forward to the younger blonde who was turned away from us.

"Ven! Please say something," Aqua said as I could hear the cracking in her voice, unsure of if these illusions were real. Before I could make a move, I felt a surge of energy erupting from the charm around my wrist.

"Terra?" I asked softly before I heard the memory of Terra speak, "Aqua, listen. I promise this is me. But I'm not myself." I could hear the gasp that slipped from Aqua as she returned her attention to her brunette friend, "What do you mean?"

"You're using the name "Terra." That means you're seeing me the way that you remember me. But your heart is just painting the picture that it so wants to see. The real me is lost in shadow." I felt my blood go cold as my gaze fell upon Terra's back.

_Wait... Then this is..._

"Then you're here, trapped in the realm of darkness," Aqua said, clueless as what he was really trying to say. Terra turned around, I could see the look on his face as he walked past me slowly, "No. My heart has ties to the dark. That must be why we can talk."

"But I can't see anything, Aqua. If you say Ven is there, then he's like me- an illusion created by your heart," Terra explained as I could feel my heart racing in my chest. Aqua nods as she looks at her friend with reassurance, "I understand. Then, you and Ven are safe in the outside world?"

"I think."

Definitely not safe at all, I thought to myself as I clenched the charm around my wrist as Aqua felt little relief in Terra's response, "That's good. But how did you find me?" Terra turned around and placed his hand over his heart as he spoke, "I looked here. And heard you in the darkness."

"That's fucking cheesy, even for an act... Tch, damn Xehanort," I muttered with a growl slipping from my throat as Aqua stepped forward with a conflicted expression.

"Right, but why does your heart have... ties to the darkness now? What did you mean 'lost in shadow'?"

"Forget about me."

I slowly dropped my arms to the side as I raised an eyebrow, "Oh? If I wasn't stupid, I would definitely say that's a 'Terra-ble' line to intimidate you, right?"

Silence.

Terra looked at Aqua with a nervous look on his face as he spoke up, "Aqua, Xehanort is trying to locate Ven."

Aqua looked at her friend with surprised before glancing over to Ven behind her with a smile on her face. "He'll never find him. I hid Ven well. I think the reason he's not talking to me here, is because he's still there sleeping..."

I felt a burst of energy coming from Terra as he crouched down, holding onto his face as he muttered under his breath.

I started to back away nervously as I could see his hair turn from brown to silver before his body stopped trembling. As he looked up, I could see the hostility in his deep golden eyes.

"This 'place'... Is it the Chamber of Waking?" I could feel my heart pounding away in my chest as I could hear his voice echoing in the air around us.

Aqua nodded as she turned around, "Yes-"

She stopped before stepped back a step with her eyebrows furrowing on her face in anger, "Who are you? Really."

Terra-Xehanort chuckled as he stepped forward, "You don't know? My name-"

"Aqua! Get back!" A bright light apparition of Terra, the real Terra, appeared behind Terra-Xehanort, pulling him into a headlock from approaching his friend any further.

"Terra!" Aqua and I called out at the same time, although I mentally slapped myself, realizing that even for a memory, I still drew a lot of concern for what was going to happen next.

Terra struggled with Xehanort as he tried to hold his body back as he explained quickly, "I messed up. Xehanort is part of me. Now he's using me so you'll tell him where you hid Ven!" Terra-Xehanort ground his teeth before he started to fight back violently, "Silence!"

A massive burst of energy started to break the ground around us as I fell back in surprise as Terra struggled to hold on.

"I won't give in! Aqua! You have to-" Terra was immediately cut off of Terra-Xehanort slipped from the hold and held Terra up by his face, his hand emitting dark energy as he growled in annoyance at the young keyblade wielder, "Still you struggle!"

"Terra!" Aqua called out about to step forward to help her friend but a vast dark corridor opened up, tightly grasping Ven and Aqua in it's hands.

"Aqua!" I called out, getting back onto my feet as the wind started to blow violently around the area.

"Now you can be one with the darkness!" Terra-Xehanort said with a satisfied look on his face. I looked between both sides of the awake party, unsure where this memory was to lead next. The only thing I was sure of was that I wanted it to end...

Terra grasped onto Terra-Xehanort's wrists as he struggled and screamed into the darkness around them, "That _is_ enough!"

The wind suddenly picked up trifold as a massive field surrounded everything from Terra, surrounding the entire area in chains. I tried to race forward as I could see Terra was using the chains to restrain Terra-Xehanort but they were wrapped around him as well.

"Terra!" I called out, slowly starting to lose my footing as the ground below me started to crumble at a terrible rate. When I looked up from my stumble, Terra and Terra-Xehanort were gone. The next thing I could hear a high pitched whistling noise by my ear as I hear Aqua's cold voice, "How _dare_ you."

* * *

_"Audri!"_ I could hear Terra's voice as I was thrown back, skating across the water like a pebble as Aqua had thrown me back. I held onto my chest, feeling my heart rate was starting to slow down as I could hear the roars of the Demon Tower nearby with Riku standing nearby.

"Glad to be back, how long was she subdued for?" I called out, asking the flickering orange stars floating around me as Terra let out a sigh of relief seeing I was alright, "Only a few minutes. But either way, Riku is not in the best shape to keep fighting."

_Shit, we're in deep trouble then. Aqua has an advantage over me with the keyblade and we still haven't save Mickey..._

My thoughts bubbled through with anxiety as I ground my teeth standing back up, "Dammit..." An audible cry was heard as I spun around to see Riku take a real beating from the Demon Tower.

"Shi-" I started to step forward but I felt a shard of ice strike my back, sending me tumbling forward and landing a few feet away from Riku's trembling stance along the watery surface.

"Sora..." Riku muttered under his heavy breathing, I slowly pulled myself to my feet as I could see both the Demon Tower and Aqua slowly closing in on us.

"Sorry Terra," I mumbled quietly as I summoned Ends of the Earth to stand my ground. Just before either side went to attack, a bright light shined from the sky above. The next thing I knew, I felt the impact of the water disturbed as both Riku and I looked to see Sora coming down for a landing.

He stood himself up straight with a cheerful look on his face, "I made it!" The look of despair that crossed Riku's face had disappeared in a moment as he had a heartful chuckle escape his lips.

Before anyone else made a move, Sora and Riku both held their arms up as a keyblade was summoned between the two of them, dawning the most beautiful stained glass in gold and teal colors.

_So this is what it's like being a real keyblade wielder_, I thought to myself as I watched in astonishment as they took the new keyblade and struck the Demon Tower with a massive spell, knocking it completely off course until we could hear the shrill wails of one King Mickey as he was flung from the Tower and landed on the beach knocked out.

The keyblade diminished once their attack completed, giving Riku a chance to run back to shore to tend to Mickey. The victory was short-lived as I could see Aqua out of the corner of my eye laying her eyes on the unexpected keyblade master.

"One last push!" I muttered under my breath as I dashed forward, hoping to cut Aqua off in time before she landed a strike on Riku. Riku turned around once he saw Aqua was heading straight for him and called Braveheart to block her brutal attack.

"Riku!" I called out just as a massive water eruption blocked my vision to see if Aqua landed on her target. As the mist faded away, I let out a deep sign of relief to see that Sora was able to make it there first and parry Aqua's attack.

"Thanks for joining the party Sora," I said jokely as I made my way, brandishing Ends of the Earth to Aqua's back, just in case she tried to make another move.

"How, Sora?" Riku asked as Sora grinned as his weapon changed to another keyblade that I remember seeing in Aqua's memory, "I... had a little help."

"Watch over the King. I've got this," Sora said with a satisfied grin on his face as I scoffed waving over to him from the other side, "Hey, I'm here to help too!"

_"Three against one seems a little unfair, but Aqua can definitely take on stronger guys than us,"_ Terra commented as a smile was brought to my face, "I don't doubt you at all. Just help me with timing my hits right."

_"Okay, let's go save her."_

And on Terra's command, I charged forward.

* * *

"Cure!"

A green light surrounded Sora's body as he charged forward to get another blow onto Aqua. "Thanks for that!" Sora called out as he stepped back at the last second as Aqua tried to uppercut Sora with Star Cluster.

"Yeah no problem!" I said wiping the sweat from my brow as I could feel my hand trembling as I held onto Ends of the Earth.

Most of the orange stars were flickering in and out of light, seeing that it was starting to drain my energy to keep this communication spell going with Terra.

"If I could land one good hit on her, Sora can finish her off," I muttered under my breath as I slapped the jewel on the shoulder armor, donning the armor in a flash of light.

_"Audri, cut the connection when you finally get your aim. Otherwise, you're going to be completely out of commission and pushing your body to the brink,"_ I could hear Terra's voice warn me as I could hear him inside of my visor.

"Got it," I said as I suddenly pulled all of my remaining strength to steady my stance while bringing the Ends of the Earth level with my shoulders as I gripped the hilt with both hands.

With the violent flash of magic and spellbound techniques, the wielders were up neck 'n neck with each other as they never seemed to break for a moment's breath.

"Fucking hell, how am I going to get a good shot like this... Guess I'm just going to push my luck," I grumbled as I adjusted my stance as I held the keyblade, kneeling closer to the rippling surface. Time slowed down to a still as I could feel the power slipping through my entire body as it started to charge down to the tip of the blade.

As a dark, flickering fire started to grow in size, my eyes flickered from deep gold to magenta for a second before I saw Sora take a stance in falling back for a moment. "Fira!"

The fire spell burst violently from the end of the keyblade as it burst out like projectile missiles, each projectile being accompanied by a single orange star, flickering brightly just before the connection was cut.

Sora quickly dodged out of the way from the onslaught of projectiles. Aqua dashed forward before coming to a complete halt as she sees the projectiles a moment too late. She tried to cast Blizzaga to defend from the projectiles but most of them hit their mark as the flames erupted in flurry of colors.

The dark flames that reached Aqua turned a bright orange mixed with greens and blues as they mixed with the Blizzaga spell, causing an aurora of color in the darkness above us all.

As the light and flames flickered down until the darkness fell over the scene, I rushed over to Sora's side to see Aqua was struggling to stand still as she dropped her head into the palm of her hand.

"Did you get h- What is that you're wearing!?" Sora asked, glancing over at me, before jumping back in surprise as he realized he's never seen me in my new armor yet.

"I think that... I think you did most of the wearing down," I said as I glanced at him with a smile hiding under my visor. He nodded as I tried to step forward, seeing Aqua was completely disoriented from the attack.

Before another step was made, the darkness started to pool underneath her feet as she started to fall back. Star Cluster started to flicker and disappear from her hands, while the darkness slowly dissipated, releasing its host from its temporary grasp.

Aqua, the Aqua I had seen in her memories, collapsed in the hungry darkness surfacing on top of the water, completely exhausted and drained of all energy.

I started to dash forward as I could hear Sora's voice calling my name as I raced forward, seeing Aqua was being swallowed by the darkness at a fast rate.

I ground my teeth as I cursed, "Dammit, why isn't this hero shit easy?!" I took a lunge before diving straight through the darkness, knowing that out of the two of us, Sora still has a lot to do.

As I plunged through the cold surface, I could feel my teeth chattering through the darkness.

_Something about this feels off_, I thought to myself as I kicked my feet, seeing that even though we were submerged, I could still breathe in this realm just fine.

I could see the ice crystals were started to grow and crack the visor as I kept swimming deeper and deeper, seeing a flickering blue light shining not far from me.

I forced my body to keep going as the ice cracked through the visor, sending the pieces to split into two and disappear into the void around me.

I could see a bright green and orange lights were soon encircling my head as I swam further down to finally catch sight of Aqua's body. I took in a deep breath, feeling the irregular air inside my lungs before I shouted, "Aqua, hold on!"

The closer I got, I could see her face was in a peaceful state before her eyes fluttered open. She slowly reached for my hand as I made one final pushed and grabbed her wrist tightly before pulling her towards my smaller frame.

The two lights danced around Aqua and I as I could feel something else was starting to repel me from the surface. I looked up to see the calm surface was breaking and Sora was swimming down towards us.

I started to swim up towards up as I could see the small lights were drifting down and creating a current that pushed me upwards. Within feet of Sora, I could feel something wrapping around my leg and jerking me down suddenly.

Being caught by surprise, I let go of Aqua and was relieved to see Sora grabbing hold on her.

Turning my attention to my own safety, I looked down to see dark tendrils wrapping around my leg. Ice started to crawl up my armored leg, making my muscles tense up from the cold as a distorted roar echoed all around me.

Realizing that whatever it was, wasn't going down without a fight, I signaled back to Sora to go back to the surface. He was able to see what I was trying to tell him before he took Aqua and himself away from the scene.

As the figures faded into the distance, I turned my attention to the hundreds of glowing eyes looking up at me from the dark abyss.

_"What a delicious vessel of darkness..."_

_"We would love to become a part of you..."_

_"Let us escape this dreary realm to wreak havoc..."_

The distorted voices echoed around me as I tried to summon another Fira spell to stop the crawling ice from going any further.

"Get off of me!" I snarled as I felt bursts of fire escape my fingertips, casting the spell down at the tendril and ice which was encasing around my leg. Hundreds of screams echoed in the realm around me as I saw something else moving behind me in the darkness.

_Do you not respect your elders?_ A distorted growl was heard as the screams started to speak in confusion with each other.

_"What are you?! We've never seen your kind before..."_

_Not your place to know. Either way, this one is mine._

A high pitched roar had me clench my hands over my ears as I took my chance to start kicking my way up to the surface. I could see the flashes of blue and pink encircling around me as I kept racing towards the surface.

_What type of idiot jumps in for a wandering soul? _The distorted voice asked me as I tried to tune it's words out of my head, trying to not think about whatever was inside of me was related to the reflection of myself the other day...

* * *

I slowly sat up from the warm sandy beach underneath me as I looked up at the bright blue sky above us.

"Don't worry, she'll come through," Mickey said as he walked over to me as I sighed brushing the sand out of my hand.

"It's not her I'm worried about," I said quietly as I glanced down at the charm bracelet attached to my left wrist. Even since we made our way out of the Realm of Darkness with everyone intact, we found ourselves out on Destiny Islands.

Or one of the few islands on this world. I remembered seeing the place in a fuzzy memory relating to Terra, but... I don't remember much else, as things have come in like flickers of the memories and moments I've had lately. Somehow, it bothered me.

All of us turned our attention as we could hear Aqua stir awake. Sora and Riku raced over to her side immediately with a sigh of relief, "Aqua!"

Aqua, in a dazed state after waking up, smiled as she looked up at them, "Ven...Terra..."

"Aqua, you're alright!" Sora said with a smile as Riku kneeled down next to her.

After realizing her mistake, she sat up in surprise. "It's you..."

"Thank goodness you're awake. You really know how to scare people," I said with a light-hearted tone as she turned her head to see Mickey and I not far away.

"Mickey... Wait, you're...." Aqua stopped as she looked at all of us, seeing Donald and Goofy had rushed over to see what commotion was going on.

Aqua gasped as she looked up at them nervously, "Are these... the Destiny Islands?" Mickey stepped over to her side as he nodded, "That's right." The look on Aqua's face was one of concern as she looked up at Sora and Riku, "When did they fall to darkness?"

Riku shook his head as a smile crossed his face, "You're in the realm of light." I could feel a smile cross my face and a warmth blossom in my chest as I could see the expression turn from being distraught to one of shock and awe.

"You're home," Sora said with a gentle smile as tears rolled down Aqua's face in happiness. Donald and Goofy raced over as they cheered, "You're home!"

Mickey, Donald, and Goofy raced forward as they gave her the biggest hugs imaginable as she was welcomed back in open arms.

Sora and Riku joined the group hug as I slowly rose to my feet, glancing back at the rippling tide washing up on the beach before us.

"Welcome home, Master Aqua," I said, tucking some loose hair behind my ear as the wind started to pick up.

_One down, two to go..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting fairly close to the end. A lot of chapters are going to be coming out slowly lately. It is a mix of depression, working full time temporarily for my current job until they need to cut my hours again, and trying to write everything out. Over the last few chapters, I realized that I wanted to go in a different direction again.  
I will probably write the original epilogues I had in mind for this under 'What If?' once the series is complete.
> 
> Like... to be honest, The original plot of Phoenix in the Dark was going to be completely different. Luxord was still going to be the main love interest and Audri would be fighting with Sora and his friends only after realizing that some of the Organization members (she knew and respected prior to Xehanort's involvement) wanted her to move on during their deaths in the final battle.
> 
> I don't remember when I first took a u-turn and completely got Terra involved. If anything, this would have been a lot shorter without Terra's involvement in the story altogether as it would have focused more in the works of Organization under Xehanort.
> 
> Anyways though, aside from the rambling, I'm going to get back to Final Fantasy XIV and procrastinating :P Writing dialogue and trying to fit in the original scenes can be a bit hard...
> 
> I probably will be doing some shorter pieces and one-shots after this is done. Lots of AU ideas and a twitter post gave me a really good PG-13 themed one.
> 
> Splatter, signing off!


	30. Pure Light and Darkness

"So... you're the one that jumped in and saved me."

I looked from Riku's wounds to see Aqua as she crouched down next to me.

"Ah, yeah. I... It was kind of a spur of the moment type deal. I was worried that if Sora couldn't make it back, then everyone else would be in some deep trouble," I said trying to explain my thoughts as I pulled a Hi-Potion from a small dark corridor and handed it to Riku.

Aqua nodded with a smile crossing her lips as she bowed her head slightly, "I appreciate it Mrs...?"

"Audri is just fine Master Aqua," I said with a curt reply as I finished rolling up the last of the remaining bandages up.

"Audri... Thank you."

"Of course," I said quickly as Riku frowned while Donald and Goofy slowly helped him up from the sandy beach of Destiny Islands.

"You could be a little nicer about her thanks Audri," Riku said as I could feel something crawl along my skin.

I rubbed my neck as I felt... irritated with Riku, but... Did I really feel that way?

"Oh don't worry, she might be very exhausted from helping save me and tend to everyone's wounds," Aqua said, trying to defend me as I dropped the last of the first aid supplies into a dark corridor.

"Riku's... right though, but as much as I want to talk with all the time in the world, time is the one thing not on our side. You all know this too," I said, feeling a darkened shadow overlying my thoughts.

All I could think about was the conversations of the Heartless were having with... the one living inside of me. Whatever it was, it made those ones about to swallow me up panic in fear and confusion.

Riku and everyone seemed to stiffen up as Sora nodded. He glanced over to Riku, King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy with a smile on his face.

"We have to go find Ventus with Aqua's help or we won't have our seven Guardians of Light. If Larxene said about them having all of their vessels is true, then they might go after the Seven Princesses at any time," He stated as I nodded, standing up on my feet.

"Aqua, Sora, and I can go retrieve Ventus from where she hid him. The four of you should go back to Master Yen Sid and let him know what happened," I ordered as I dusted the sand from my clothes as Sora and Aqua looked at me in surprise.

"Are you sure you don't need more help?" Mickey asked as Sora grinned, "We got three Keyblade wielders, we'll be perfectly fine!"

Mickey, Donald, and Goofy glanced over at me in surprise, "Three..... What is Sora talking about?"

I backed up and held up my hands nervously, "S-Sora! I... It was a reflex, plus it's not really mine! I... It's supposed to be a secret!"

"Hm... Well Audri, It's... very peculiar," Riku said as I could feel my skin crawl with heaviness on my heart. He and the others knew I was some type of... Heartless. But for a Heartless to wield the weapon of its demise?

Sora scratched the back of his head before laughing nervously, "Sorry, I assumed others knew since you were helping me and Riku fight against Aqua, at least so she didn't hurt Mickey."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure we don't say anything to anyone else," Riku said with a smile as Aqua nodded oblivious to the underlying notions in the silent conversations in everyone's mind, "You have my promise I'll keep your secret too."

I let out a deep sigh, seeing that I wasn't going to get out of this. _If anything, maybe it's better to have them keep it close to their hearts instead of hiding from them any long..._

I nodded with a nervous smile, "Right... I guess we'll head on first then... Sora, Aqua. Shall we?"

They looked at me before nodding, "Right!"

* * *

"So... Audri, do you... have a sibling?"

I came to a slow stop on the rocky slope we were walking along as I looked back at Aqua and Sora, "What do you mean?"

Aqua waves her hand through her hair before she spoke.

"When I was in the Realm of Darkness, there was a tall man with silver hair and a young woman looking for someone. I fought against the woman and fell. She was a very aggressive fighter with the fieriest red hair I've ever seen before."

I blinked slowly before piecing together the information I remember Vexen had told me about Ansem and Rauxdi going to the Realm of Darkness a while ago.

_The story really adds up, then that means she fought with Rauxdi that time..._ My mind started to trail off before I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I jumped out of my skin before seeing Aqua standing there with a worried look on her face, "Are you alright? Sorry if I brought up a bad memory..."

"Huh? Oh, no! I..."

I paused for a second as I nodded placing a hand over my heart, "I have someone close to me that fits that description very well."

Sora walks over and looks over at us both in surprise, "Would you two be happening to be talking about Rauxdi? Scary woman with red hair and carries around a giant lance?"

I blinked. "You met Rauxdi? Sora, what the fu-"

"Hey, don't be mad! I just met her in the last world I was in before me, Donald, and Goofy came to find you guys in the Realm of Darkness. She said she wanted me to pass on a message to you," Sora said with a serious look crossing over his face.

I looked between Aqua and Sora before sighing, "I would say we can have a long conversation on what happened with both of you, but... First things first. Are you sure we're going in the right direction? This fog had been creeping me out for hours."

Aqua gives me a reassuring smile as she steps forward, making Sora and I continue following her down the pathway. "This is definitely the way. I wish I could rest, but... Ven is expecting me. I promised to wake him."

"I said I would be right back, but I'm not even close," Aqua said quietly as Sora caught up to her side to see the distraught expression. "Sounds like you're in for an earful then," I said with a small smile as I came to a sudden halt seeing the building suddenly appearing in front of us.

"Isn't this..."

_Castle Oblivion?_

Aqua took a moment to draw a deep breath before she drew her keyblade, the keyblade Sora had used to reach the Realm of Darkness as she raised the keyblade with both hands on the hilt as she pointed the tip of the blade at the castle door entrance.

A single beam of light shot from the blade, echoing and flickering off of the Castle Oblivion's doors before a massive burst of energy erupted from both Aqua's weapon and the building itself.

I stood my ground the best as Sora did the same, surprised of the sudden shock. An illuminated keyhole appeared on the castle as Aqua held her ground.

Another burst of light shot from the keyblade into the keyhole in front of the three of us as Aqua broke the keyhole's spell. A massive click echoed throughout the area before the wind came to a halt and a radiating light burst from the ground below.

A type of projection rose up over the entire castle, echoing it's former glory before Castle Oblivion started to shift and move the pieces into place as if it was working like clockwork.

Sora and I just stood by in awe as the magic brought the building back to life before it stood in its glory. An audible gasp escaped my lips as the sky suddenly shined down on all three of us as we stood in front of the one and only castle of The Land of Departure.

I looked around with Sora's excitement to find that we were standing in the forecourt of the Castle Entrance. I quickly tapped my fingers against the good luck charm on my wrist as I could hear Terra ask in confusion before realizing why I opened a line to him.

_"We're... I'm..."_ Terra's loss of words made me smile as I held the charm against my heart, "You're almost home."

"Audri, come on!"

I looked up to see Aqua and Sora were already halfway up the staircase, about to enter through the castle doors.

_"Go catch up, let's talk in a moment,"_ I could hear Terra usher me along as I dashed up the staircase to help Aqua and Sora open the massive castle doors.

As Aqua and Sora stepped into the entranceway, I could feel chills running down my spine as it felt so surreal to see the one world I've seen in memories, finally being able to see it in person was so absurd.

As I stepped over the threshold, I could feel a sudden flood of emotions and memories overcoming me. I bit down on my tongue as I held myself tall, seeing all of the memories of three keyblade wielders training and enjoying their every day lives with their Master.

Aqua turned around to face Sora and I, a look of confusion ran over her face as she spoke up, "Audri? Are you okay?"

"What do you mean?" I asked quietly before Sora looked back and gestured to his face. I reached up slowly, to feel my cheeks were wet as I was crying silently. I blushed and ran my arm over my eyes before I nodded, feeling quite embarrassed.

"A-ah, must have gotten something in my eye... You two can go on ahead, I'll catch up with you," I said quickly trying to wipe my tears away but they just kept pouring down. Aqua glanced over to Sora with reassurance before Sora smiled.

"Join us when you're ready then," Sora said before I could hear their footsteps started to make their way down the hallway and towards another section of the castle. I waited another few moments before I heard Terra speak up.

_"They're gone Audri. Are you alright?"_ Terra asked as I slowly moved my arm from my eyes, feeling my eyelashes were soaked from all of the tears as I started to sniffle.

"I... Your memories of this place. They're... You guys really experienced a lot."

Terra let out a small 'ah' in understanding as I could see the orange star flutter in front of my face. I slowly held my palms upwards and held them up before the small star fell into my hands. Carefully cradling it, I held it up to my face as I could feel the warmth from it.

_"Maybe with how we're connected, it's like your heart is connected to mine with a strong connection than we thought before."_

"But how come this has been the only world to cause such a reaction?"

Terra pondered on that thought for a moment before he spoke up, _"It could be possible that... most of the worlds that Ven, Aqua, and I visited have fallen to the darkness already. Maybe not all of the world were brought back over time, but... Maybe because this is home."_

I stood there as I sighed, looking up at the tall ceilings above me before looking down at the small star in the palms of my hand, "How are you feeling? I feel like communicating like this is a big strain on your consciousness."

_"It... Actually it isn't, to be honest. I wonder if most of your own power is aiding to keeping the connection together. I..."_

Terra paused for a moment as I started to slowly walk down the hallways of the castle, in awe with the architecture, and hoping to catch up with the two keyblade wielders.

_"I wanted to thank you for saving Aqua. You really didn't have to do any of this,"_ Terra said quietly as I smiled holding the star in my hands like it was a delicate flame.

"You're welcome, it's the least I can do since I haven't save you yet," I said with a light chuckle as Terra laughed, _"But I'm being honest. You could have ignored my pleas and let Xehanort take over with Kingdom Hearts. Why did you though?"_

I came to a stop as I fluttered my eyes closed for a second before opening them, feeling tears wanting to fall down my face again, "Because I was given a choice for once."

"Aw, well isn't that sweet?" A mocking voice spoke up as I turned around, releasing the star and feeling my body pinned to the ground with Void Gear digging into my shoulder.

"V-Vanitas?" I snarled, gripping the keyblade head, hoping to wretch it from my right shoulder as I could feel my body burning all over. Somehow, the keyblade ripped open every keyblade wound and scar over my body in an instant.

"Well, hello to you babe," Vanitas sneered as he stood over my body with his bodysuit and helmet on. "What are you doing here?" I growled under my breath as I could feel him digging the blade deeper into my shoulder.

He smirked as he knelt down, pressing the keyblade deeper into my body before he tapped his finger onto my chest, "I followed this, knowing that you or one of the idiots you follow would lead me to Ventus eventually. I know you're all desperate for Guardians..."

_The Recusant's Sigil? I thought Xemnas was the only one that could track me with it_, I felt my brain go into a panic as I summoned Ends of the Earth with my left hand and swung, knocking out Void Gear, having Vanitas slip forward before he jumped back.

"Oh, it looks like you upgraded Audri. Mind if I take it to the Keyblade Graveyard in memory of you?" Vanitas sneered with a grin as I slowly stood up with the hilt grasped tightly.

"Fuck off Vanitas. And you have got balls if you think I'm going to let you go any further than here," I said as I raised my left arm up until the tip of my blade was parallel with Vanitas' chest.

Vanitas just cackled before he suddenly swung Void Gear up and interlocking our keyblades and pinning mine against the wall. "You have such a temper but you are a lousy threat. Now, if I didn't know better, you remind me of a very naive brunette..."

Vanitas held his blade as I tried to grab the hilt with both hands, trying to jerk the keyblade free.

"It makes me sick to my stomach that you remind me so much of him, he was only a good vessel, nothing else," Vanitas said leaning against his blade before I turned to him and flickered my eyes over his face seeing everything turning pink, "Terra is more than just Xehanort's puppet!"

"Oho, I see you are definitely the spitting image of that moron."

I blinked for a moment to find Vanitas and his keyblade was gone. Feeling my pulse starting to rise from anxiety, I yanked the keyblade from the wall as I looked around the hallway frantically.

_"Audri, I can feel him going towards Aqua and Sora!"_ Terra's voice buzzed in my ear like radio static. "I'll try and head him off but I doubt that I can," I said creating a dark corridor, about to go after Vanitas.

Halfway through entering the corridor, I felt something grab my wrist and pulled me back out immediately.

"Vanitas, you bas-"

"Now my dear, is that the proper way to greet someone?"

I felt my breath pulled out of my lungs when I was forced to turn around and found myself face to face with Young Master Xehanort. His deep gold eyes scanned over my glowing pink eyes before he scanned the rest of my body.

"You can't be running around with his cuts and bruises right now. Why not get treated? I can heal those up for you."

I could feel my mouth go dry from the thought before a grimace landed on my face, "Why in the fuck would I want to go to the enemy to get healed?"

Young Master Xehanort twitched from the corner of his mouth before he squeezed my wrist tightly before conjuring another dark corridor around us, "I didn't say it was optional."

* * *

I stood on the other side of the massive white bedroom as I could see the endless night sky above us. In the sky, from what I could see, was light pink hearts raining from the sky like an endless storm.

_Never expected to come back here in a million years_, I thought to myself before I turned around to see Young Master Xehanort come in with a box of first aid and potions in hand. I just placed my back against the window before a threatening growl slipped out from my throat.

He just looked at me with a jaded expression before chuckling, "Just because I'm not your 'master' Xemnas doesn't give you the right to be so cold."

"Master?" I said in an agitated tone before he pulled his keyblade out, casting a barrier around the room. I felt my muscles tense up immediately as I could see the hearts outside of the window were barely moving throughout the sky.

"You can try to make out of here with a fight, you will definitely be in a worse state... I have some information you'd like to hear about though," Xehanort said with a smirk as he patted the spot next to him on the bed.

_I wanna vomit_, I thought to myself before pressing myself further against the window, feeling the pain subside from my right shoulder from where Vanitas stabbed me. It's like the cold glass and pressure was actually helping the wound.

"You can't possibly have anything that I want," I said feeling my eyes flicker away from his face to the floor underneath my feet. I heard footsteps before my head was tilted up by a gloved finger, "Oh? Then does that mean you don't want to know what you are?"

"Sounds like more lies and bullshit you want to spin just to tease me," I scoffed trying to push his hand away before I felt something wash over my body; my hand was pinned beside my head in an instant like gravity was forcing me against the window.

"I love making you uneasy. It brings me such joy to see you unraveling and being devoured by the darkness. And to prove that you are one in a million, I would go far to say that you are by far more superior than my own Heartless."

I could see the smug smirk on the young Xehanort's face as I raised an eyebrow in surprise, knowing that he has my attention now. Flattery wins every time.

"I'd like a better explanation on what you mean by that," I said with a flicker of hostility in my voice before his eyes glowed for a second before he tapped his finger against my bottom lip, "Have you wondered why we're going through so much trouble to experiment on you now?"

I stood there drawing a blank before Xehanort continued.

"When we saw the reaction you had after seeing Xemnas when we first brought him back in a vessel, we knew that something in your little tainted heart attracted you _to_ him. We took Vexen's research and Ansem began anew, realizing that you were a new variety," Xehanort said before he slid my hand into his palm, leading me to walk towards the bed.

I tried to pull back from him, but I couldn't feel anything. It's like my body was sliding through quicksand and could feel something was forcing me to follow Young Master Xehanort's command...

"Wait, do you have one of those pieces? Ansem mentioned there was something out there to control my body," I said in a quick and panicked state as Xehanort glanced back at me before pushing me down to sit on the bed with a light thud.

"I mean... I could have one, but I just like dominating you with my own powers with space and time," He retorted in a crude manner before he trailed his gloved fingers along my battered and wounded shoulder.

"Alright then you fucking asshole. What did you all find out about me then?"

Xehanort just leaned his face forward as I could feel strands of his silver hair brushing against my head before I felt my head glance away in a submissive state.

I just ground my teeth as his hand brushed through my hair before he whispers into my ear, "Have you heard of 'Liches'?"

I blinked in confusion as he pulled back, gauging my reaction on my face. "Well... In most stories, a Lich is..." I started to say slowly before I stopped, feeling something click.

It... I suddenly felt a weight lifted from my shoulders as I saw Xehanort purse his lips before he removed his gloved.

"An undead body whose aim is to wander the world forever with no sense of purpose. Always one that is well skilled in necromancy over years of mastery," Xehanort said as he brought his hand over my wounds.

Dragging his hand along the wound, blue and black smoke slipped from his fingers, erasing the opened wound along my shoulder and arm.

I felt something wavering over my mind as I could feel the senses in my skin and body come back as I lifted my fingers up to my face.

"Are you telling me that I became a... new breed of undead Heartless?"

Master Xehanort smirked as he cupped my scarred face with his hand, "Oh no my dear, you are... from Ansem's records, the first of the Necromantic Purebloods. Now, will you listen to what I have to say?"

My eyes flickered from magenta to gold as I looked at the young, manipulative man with hopelessness, "What do you really want with me?"

* * *

"Your heart never found its way home?" Aqua asked softly as she stood by Ven's sleeping form as he rested upon one of the wooden thrones among the throne room.

When Sora and Aqua entered the room, Aqua rushed over to find him still sleeping soundly like he did all those years ago when she first left him here. 

"That was a neat trick." She lifted her head and saw that there was a masked boy standing behind Sora. She felt her anger quicken as she remembered the voice of the boy under the mask after all this time as he continued to speak, "No wonder no one could find him."

"Vanitas!" Sora called out in anger as he summoned his keyblade, ready to defend Aqua and Ventus with all that he had. Aqua slowly stood to her feet as she stepped in front of Ven, knowing that he was always looking out to destroy her and her friends, "Why are you here?"

"Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt your touching reunion, but surely you won't begrudge me a moment with my brother?" Vanitas said with a sneer before he moved from where he was standing and teleported to the top of the throne Ventus was sleeping on.

Aqua took a step back in anger before she called her keyblade, ready for a fight. Vanitas just placed his hand on his visor before a smirk hid behind his masked face. "So, Venty-Wenty wants to keep sleeping. What am I ever going to do with you?"

A sudden crackle went through the air as an array of dark volley projectiles shot up at Vanitas from the throne. Vanitas teleported away and landed between Sora and Aqua, the three keyblade wielders turning to the opened dark corridor before they saw a figure in silver and lilac armor stepped out holding Ends of the Earth.

"Aw, you found us babydoll. Surprised you didn't get lost," Vanitas said calmly with a smirk on his face before the figure ripped off their helmet to show Audri's face with deep golden eyes and her white hair in a long braid draped over her shoulder.

"Vanitas, you're cornered. You really should not put up a fight if you want to leave with your vessel in one piece," Audri growled as him before she slowly stepped forward as Aqua took a step back in surprise, realizing the extent of the darkness coming from the girl.

"In your dreams babe! I will have the upper hand once me and Ventus become one-"

"Shut up!" Aqua snapped as she launched herself forward and tried to land a strike across his back. Vanitas sensed Aqua's presence, able to call Void Gear back and interlock keyblades with the blue-haired woman.

He just let out a heartfelt laugh before he spoke up sarcastically, "You better settle down there 'Master'!" Vanitas pushed Aqua back a few feet before she regained a defensive stance.

"Aqua, I'll handle him!" Sora said about to step forward before Aqua held her hand out, slowly shaking her head.

"No, I'm ending this."

"But... You haven't fully recovered yet!" Audri called out as she knew the keyblade master was only healed of her wounds, but her stamina? Audri wasn't sure but knew she couldn't burn both ends of the candle. Not like this.

"Sorry... but you've both seen me weak, too often. Now it's my turn to shine." As Aqua spoke, she cast a done shield around the area, enclosing herself with Vanitas inside. Audri and Sora ran to the barrier as they slammed their fists on it, hoping Aqua would let them in to fight.

"Aqua!"

* * *

"What can we do?" Sora asked as he turned to face me as I dismissed my armor, seeing that there was no reason to pick a fight when I couldn't reach Vanitas through Aqua's shield. I tried to summon a dark corridor into the done but to no avail.

"We really can't change her mind Aqua, would you feel the same if you were sitting where Ventus is and Riku or Kairi was trying to protect you, but someone else tried to help them?"

Sora stopped as I turned to face him with a frown on my face, "Sometimes, there are levels of pride a person has where we need to feel like all we believe in is validated in our actions. If anything, I suggest us getting Ventus' body to a safer pl-"

A blast shook the area as Sora and I turned to see that Vanitas had shot a spell at the shield over where Ventus was. Whatever hit the shield was powerful enough that the glass was crackled and starting to spread outward.

"Audri-"

"I got it," I said, suddenly dropped into a dark corridor and landed by Ventus' body on the other side of the room. I summoned Ends of the Earth as I stood in front of the cracked barrier seeing Vanitas was holding his keyblade up about to strike another spell.

I ground my teeth holding my keyblade in defense about to send a round of dark volley projectiles if Vanitas broke through. Before anyone could blink, Aqua had jumped in front of the cracked barrier and holding her hands out as Vanitas' Firaga spell exploded and hit her.

"Aqua!" Both Sora and I called out as we saw Aqua's body flew from the cracked area of the shield and collapsed on the ground.

"Vanitas! Stop it!" I ran towards the barrier, placing my hand against it as I could see him relax his posture before he walked over to Aqua's body holding Void Gear in hand. I could barely hear Sora's pleas on the other side of the area as I could feel my vision was starting to flicker.

_"She is past her expiration and you know it."_ The distorted voice echoed in my head as I dropped Ends of the Earth and clutched my head as I could feel a searing pain rip through my skin.

"But... Aqua made it out of the Realm of Darkness," I mumbled, feeling my vision was flickering like I was on the verge of blacking out.

_"You know what you must do if any of them lose..."_

I felt my eyes open up wide as I turned around to see a bright light coming from the throne where Ventus was sitting.

_Did Vanitas..._ I turned to see Vanitas stopped as he held his keyblade over Aqua's collapsed body about to end her.

_Then what..._

A burst of light shot forth from the chair as it raced past me and cracked the barrier, taking the form of the sleeping boy, now awake with anger in his heart.

"Aqua!" Ventus called out as he held his keyblade in hand as he charged straight for Vanitas. As he shot forward and interlocked blade with Vanitas, an eruption of energy came from both standing keyblade wielders inside of the barrier.

I could feel the headache was subsiding as I noticed the massive cracks in the barrier as the energy inside started to break it down completely. As the shield came down, Ventus stood tall as he stepped back to protect Aqua while I saw Sora was running towards Vanitas ready to fight.

I slowly stood to my feet to see Vanitas didn't like the turn of events as he jumped over Sora and landed on the other side of the room.

Vanitas scoffed as he spoke, "Three Guardians and their pet Heartless is more than I care to face. But now that my brother is awake, I'm just certain that he'll come to visit." I grit my teeth as I step forward about to run at Vanitas with full force but he disappeared into a dark corridor that closed immediately.

"Aqua, are you all right?" Sora's voice reached my ears as I closed my eyes, feeling the slow pulse of my heart in my chest. I could hear Aqua and Ventus' voices behind me but everything started to fade as I could just feel uneasiness reach me, remembering the... conversation I had with Master Xehanort's younger self.

_"Is that all you have to say then?" I asked._

_"In regards to you? Yes. Now, will you take your newfound identity and destroy the Guardians of Light for our gain?" Young Master Xehanort asked, standing in front of me as I slowly dressed my wounds, seeing that there were some sections on my body that he didn't want to heal fully._

_"All that time traveling must be turning you delirious if you think I'm going to backstab seven keyblade wielders," I scoffed tightening the last of the bandage rolls around my wrist._

_I felt a hand grab my forearm forcefully before I looked back into his glowing golden eyes._

_"Don't you crave for your death? There's a look on your face you that said you were willing to give everything up only so long ago," Xehanort asked as I grimaced under his grip._

_"He's not wrong..." The distorted voice came out from the back of my mind as I shook my head._

_"Does it matter? Even if I did obey your orders, what makes you think you can defeat them?"_

_A small sneer landed on his face as he spoke, "We've prepared plenty of plans and tactics. There's no way it will fail."_

_"But if it does?"_

_Young Master Xehanort ran his hand up to grip a fistful of my hair, "I don't know why, but just having you asking over and over again if 'we are sure' that our plan will not fail..."_

_I whimpered as he yanked my head down before forcing me to look at the ground. I could feel his lips on my earlobe before he snarled, "Trust me my darling. Even if we have to rewrite history again, we will make sure it goes according to my plan. Even if it means taking you out of the equation entirely."_

_A nervous expression raced over my face before Xehanort let go of my hair and stepped away from the bed I was sitting upon._

_"I would recommend you to think my offer over since the hours are ticking down now for those around you," Xehanort said as he summoned his keyblade, releasing the time-bound spell on the room before he disappeared down a dark corridor._

_I took a deep breath as I activated the armor while opening a dark corridor of my own to head back to the Land of Departure to go deal with Vanitas, _ _"It's like he is trying to herd the most disobedient cat ever. Such a pity he thinks I'll change my mind."_


	31. Final Resting Point

"Oh, you're back! Yen Sid wants us to have an audience with him."

Aqua, Ven, Sora, and I exited the corridor of light Sora made with his keyblade outside of Master Yen Sid's tower. The first person to greet us was Kairi as she had a smile on her face, happy to see us back.

"I guess he's really pumping on the gas now," I said with my hands on my hips as Aqua and Ven followed Kairi towards the tower entrance. I was able to follow them but I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Ah, Audri? Might if I talk to you for a moment in private? Just about something real quick," Sora said as he raised a hand to his mouth, trying to be quiet so the others couldn't hear him speak. I raised an eyebrow before turning around.

"We'll be up in a few minutes!" I called out, seeing Kairi give me a thumbs up before leaving the door open behind her. I turned back around and I raised my eyebrow seeing the look on Sora's face.

Something about his expression was... worried.

"What's going on Sora? Everything okay?"

"Well... You know how I mentioned that I ran into Rauxdi right before going to find you, Riku, and the King?" Sora said as he stretched his arms and placed them behind his head. I nodded slowly before interlocking my fingers together, "Yeah, why do you...."

I stopped before Sora dropped his arms with a sigh.

"She wanted me to pass on a message to you. Although she knows that you probably _won't_ listen to her, she still wanted me to let you know."

I just snorted before raising an eyebrow at Sora, "Why does she think I'm not going to listen to her?"

* * *

"At last, we are all assembled." The ten of us stood in front of Yen Sid in his tower chambers as he looked upon his Guardians of Light with their allies with relief in his eyes. He glanced over to the middle of the group towards Sora, Riku, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey.

I was standing over on the far side of the room next to the door with my back against the wall. Out of everyone here, I strangely felt like an outsider, after all that was said and done. At the same time, I felt... comfortable not having the attention on me at the moment.

"First: Sora, Riku, Donald, Goofy, Mickey. I cannot thank you enough for what you have done," Yen Sid with the expression of a proud father crossing his face as he raked in their accomplishments before he turned his head to the lost Keyblade Master and Wielder to their left, "And you, Aqua and Ventus: we are fortunate to have you back."

"Thanks. I only wish we could have returned to help sooner."

I started to sigh to myself as I crossed my arms tightly over my chest, keeping my eyesight down at the ground. I could hear everyone speaking but I could feel my heart flicker at the mention of '_Terra_'.

To be honest, I was having a hard time concentrating on the conversation after what Sora and I discussed outside...

_"Rauxdi wants you to back down from the war."_

_I let out a half-hearted chuckle, looking away for a moment before seeing the look on Sora's face hadn't changed in expression. I blinked for a moment before standing up, crossing my arms over my chest._

_"Are you serious Sora? That was her message?"_

_"Yeah. I know you and the Organization aren't on good terms, but Rauxdi said that you two were closer than the rest of-"_

_"We were." I said as I could feel a pang of guilt but it was the truth. We were close before, but we outgrew each other... Right?_

_"But, that doesn't make sense on why she would try to warn you if that's the case," Sora said stepping forward, hoping to see if I could give him any clarification._

_I took a deep sigh before dropping my arms to my eye, looking at Sora with a glint of suppressed emotion over my face._

_"She's been trying to keep me out of this situation after she realized what they were trying to ask of me, way before you showed back up at my door. I wasn't to be involved, but I got pulled straight back in..." I could feel my hands tremble before I looked down at my hands._

_"I woke up not remembering how I got to Traverse Town and tried to... well, live life after Organization XIII's demise when you went to the castle to stop Xemnas. I..."_

_I looked up to feel a light thud as I found my nose tickling by brown spiky hair as I realized Sora was embracing me._

_"I... I guess I didn't help, existing I mean and trying to take down Xehanort," Sora said quietly as I realized where he was going with this. I wiggled my arms out and pulled Sora back by the shoulders.  
_

_"Sora, whatever you're thinking: Stop it. It wasn't your fault that Master Xehanort roped me back into the Organization. They did it on their own accord because of what I am..."_

_Or... At least what I thought I was... I thought to myself as Sora looked at me with a weak smile._

_"Ah, sorry! I just... got thought you needed a hug and umm...." Sora blushed as he backed away, scratching his face in embarrassment as I smiled opening my arms out towards him._

_"Why do I feel like the hug was meant more for you?" I asked as I flexed my hands at Sora, with a weak smile on my face._

_Sora stepped forward before he came forward for a more gentle hug this time._

_I wrapped my arms around him as I could feel Sora's body shaking. I placed my hand on the top of his head as I could hear the smallest muffled sobbing._

_"Sora, believe me. Whatever you are you thinking right now, I hope you know that nothing has ever been your fault," I started to whisper to him as I tried to comfort the teen in my arms, realizing that he was a child who had to grow up so fast to protect the worlds against the darkness._

_"I want you to know that it's okay to feel like things suck. But..." I pulled away and smiled poking his nose with my free hand, "I gotta admit, even for a former enemy, you've come so far and we're so close to the end. You've protected so many people. You need to be proud of that."_

"Audri?"

"Hm, what's up?" I said, nonchalantly as I looked up to see Riku was calling for my attention, realizing that everyone's eyes were on me.

_Shit. I must have really spaced out there_, I thought to myself a little embarrassed as Riku spoke up, "Would you happen to know if Terra was with the Organization before you had left?"

I stopped breathing for a second as I felt a tight weight in my chest appear. "I..." I glanced away for a second before pushing myself off of the wall with my hands making their way to my pockets, tightly gripping the shar-shaped charm in my hand, "It's complicated. I wish..."

"Leave it to Ven and I. We'll bring him home." My head was raised up as I saw Aqua and Ventus across the room looking at me with confidence in their stance. I blinked before Ven spoke with a smile , "Yeah, I made him a promise. I said I'd be there for him when he needs me." 

I could feel the weight slowly lifting from my chest as I nodded with a smile, "Thank you Aqua, Ven."

"And I'll figure Roxas out. Don't know how, but... I'll get him back." Axel chimed in as he looked at everyone hoping that everyone knows what his intention are, probably regarding part of the conversation that I zoned out of earlier.

Kairi nodded as she placed her hand over her heart as she spoke up. "Naminé is right here, safe with me. I know that we'll find a way to help her. Trust me, I'm not giving up."

"Kairi's right. We're all in this together, Sora!" Mickey said with a smile. Goofy stepped forward and placed a hand on Sora's shoulder, "And Donald and I are no Keyblade wielders, but we'll always be right there to help keep ya steady. We've got your back, not just now, but always."

"Three half-pints make a whole!" Donald chimed in as Sora raised his eyebrow at the magician as his face scrunched up, "That again?"

Everyone started to laugh. I shook my head, not understanding the inside of the joke, but it's okay since it seemed like everyone was feeling more uplifted even after that exchange.

"It is a shame that all of our friends could not be here. But our seven guardians of light have united." Yen Sid started to remark before his eyes scanned the room from Donald and Goofy to me, "Perhaps you might say that we have ten guardians, with Donald, Goofy, and Audri."

I blinked and felt my hands go to my face as I found tears running out down all of a sudden. I wiped them away as I heard Yen Sid speak up again, "Given time, I know the others will soon stand with us. Today, you will recuperate. On the morrow, you journey to the fated place."

I looked back up with a beaming smile and a new spring in my step as everyone spoke at the same time.

"Right!"

* * *

Aqua and Ven made their way down the staircase before reaching the tower entrance. As they slipped outside, Ven looked up at the sky with a somber expression on his face. "The stars here are so beautiful. I noticed it when we arrived," Ven said quietly as Aqua looked up.

"Yes." She said quietly as she stood there, realizing that even though she had seen worlds had been consumed by the darkness, Sora and all of his friends have kept many other worlds from falling. If only she could go back in time and fix this before it was too late...

"We've gone without this for so long," Ven stated, glancing over at Aqua, realizing that whatever was crossing her mind seemed to be troubling her. To be honest, he's shocked to even be here now after all that happened. After fighting Vanitas, he thought he would be gone for good...

"I know."

Ven smiled weakly at Aqua's answer, knowing that even though he wants to be there for Aqua, Ven knew that he couldn't do it alone. He took a few steps down the small entranceway before sitting down on the steps. Even now, his body was still trying to wake up.

"I remember dreaming a lot. Of you and Terra. Of Sora and his friends too, I think." Ven started to speak before he paused, tracing his dreams, or... Sora's memories, trying to put all the pieces back together.

"And there were some more people I didn't recognize. Oh, and I saw these weird animal creatures! It's like... I've been part of some big adventure," Ven explained with a smile on his face as he saw Aqua step down and sit, leaving a gap between the two of them.

"I've been to some places, too. But pretty soon... Things'll be back to normal," Aqua said, forcing a smile onto her face as she looked over at the young blonde sitting next to her. Ven nodded before he rummaged around his pocket and pulling out the green Wayfinder Aqua made for him.

Ven smiled, remembering that this charm was made so the three of them had an unbreakable connection as friends. He held the star up against the night sky, seeing it twinkle from the moonlight as he spoke, "Let's share stories when Terra's back."

Aqua smiled, realizing that she was looking for her, digging through her robes before pulling out a deep blue Wayfinder made of the same material as Ven's. Glass and mental, tied together with cord, she smiled as she brought it up against the sky like Ven had done.

"Yeah..."

"Ven, Aqua? What are you doing out here?" Aqua and Ven slowly lowered their Wayfinders from their line of sight as they turned their head to see who was calling them.

Stepping down the staircase slowly was the scarred woman they've momentarily spent time with. Her white hair was tied into a messy bun as her bright yellow eyes flickered across their faces with curiosity. Something about those yellow eyes gave Aqua and Ven the chills, even though they knew she was on their side...

Ven decided to speak first as he cocked his head with a smile, "Uh, Audri was it? Ah, we were just enjoying the view." Audri took his gaze away from the two keyblade wielders as she looked up at the sky above.

"The stars?" She asked, her voice seemed a little uncertain of their activity as Ven nodded bashfully as he tried to explain, "Yeah, we..." Ven paused as he felt like even if he explained, she probably would not understand the sentiment.

"Ven, Terra, and I sat under a starry sky like this before we went our separate ways. It's been a very long time since we were together," Aqua explained, noticing Ven's hesitation before Audri lowered her gaze from the night sky and looked down at her feet.

"Hmm, I see..." Audri said quietly as she seemed to shuffle something around in her hands, which Ven didn't realize she was holding onto until now.

"What's the book for?" Ven called out as he gestured to the worn-down book she happened to be carrying in her arms. From what he could see from the outside, it had a very old leather cover with frayed edging. Definitely must be Yen Sid's from the condition it's in.

Audri blinked as she waved the book in her hands, "This? I was going to work on an encantation I wanted to practice before tomorrow's fight..."

A warm smile found its way to Aqua's face as she realized that the girl was wishing to make an impact against Master Xehanort. "Make sure to take it easy, we'll definitely need your help," Aqua commented as Audri looked down at both keyblade wielders before something caught her eye.

She almost raced down the stairs before sitting down between the two of them, catching the two of them by surprise. "Oh, you guys have them!" Audri exclaimed as she slapped the book down onto her knees as Aqua and Ven glanced between each other with confusion.

Ven finally realized as he still had his Wayfinder in his hand. "Huh? You mean this?" Ven asked as he slowly raised his star-shaped charm closer to Audri. That seemed to be the correct intuition on Ven's part as Audri tapped her fingers lightly on the glass before pulling at a corded bracelet around her wrist.

"I was given one by a friend before we went our separate ways. It's special to me with all the places and people I've met carrying it. Kairi told me a little bit about the story behind them," Audri explained as Aqua nodded scooting closer to show Audri her own.

"They're called Wayfinders, I made them a long time ago for us and Terra. Glad that we still have then, right Ven?" Aqua said with a smile as Ven leaned over, seeing the tired smile on her face. "Of course!" Ven said with a smile before he held it tightly in his hand, afraid to lose sight of it.

After a moment, Aqua broke the silence as the three of them sat there. "Hey, Audri? Was there something you wanted to tell us?"

"Huh?" Audri asked, glancing between the two of them before Aqua responded with a proper explanation, "Ven noticed you had this look on your face earlier when Riku asked if you knew about Terra being with this... Organization. Is something the matter?"

Ven and Aqua noticed the tension had suddenly shifted as Audri sat between them, fidgeting with the purple Wayfinder on her corded bracelet. "Terra... He..." Audri started to say, making Aqua and Ven's hearts leap in their chest, hoping to hear good news about their friend.

"He needs both of you more than ever, and probably he would be overjoyed if he knew you both miss for him so much after all that happened," Audri started to say slowly, as if she was carefully picking her words before she placed her hand over her chest, tightly pulling at the fabric of her shirt.

Audri exhaled slowly as she looked up at the sky with her palm flattening over her heart as she had a twinkle in her eyes, "The one thing I know for sure? He wants to be home, with both of you and the others too!"

Ven and Aqua gasped, not realizing they were holding their breath as Audri was speaking. Suddenly, Audri got up to her feet, holding the book in her right hand as she trotted down the tower steps. She tapped her foot to the ground before a dark corridor opened up before her.

"Wait, how do you-" Ven jumped up, realizing that he was more curious about what Audri knew about Terra, rather than how she was able to conjure a dark corridor out of thin air. 

"Don't worry!" Audri called out to them as Aqua slowly rose to her feet, realizing that there was more to Audri than either of them expected as the girl continued to speak, "I'll be back at the cottage in a while. Go on ahead without me!"

And with that, Aqua and Ven were left with more questions than answers as Audri disappeared down the dark corridor.

* * *

"I can't believe that Even did this under Master Xehanort's nose," Ansem the Wise commented as Ienzo glanced over to the empty replica resting on a surgical table.

"I think they had over-prepared and it sounds like there is a lot more help on the inside than what Demyx explained," Ienzo commented before he saw a dark corridor open up on the other side of the room.

"Demyx? What are you doing back here so-" Ienzo froze as he saw a woman step out of the corridor wearing a black hoodie with white skinny jeans, her fiery red hair braided into segmented ponytails.

"Ah, this is where you guys have been hiding ever since that little stunt, nice digs," Rauxdi commented as her blue and golden eyes flickered straight over to Ansem the Wise, seeing the nervous look on his face realizing who she was.

"Are you here to bring me back to my delusional apprentice?" Ansem the Wise asked, taking a step forward, hoping to show he wasn't going without a fight. Rauxdi just shook her head as she jammed her hands into her hoodie pockets, "Not here for you old man. Gotta let nature run its course."

"Then what are you here for Rauxdi? Strange to see you here and not Aud-" Ienzo stopped as she glanced over at the former Nobody with an empathetic look on her face, "Can I trust you guys to deliver something from me if Audri ever comes through here?"

Ienzo raised his eyebrow as Rauxdi pulled a crumpled envelope from her hoodie and held it by her head. "Why can't you give her the letter yourself?" Ienzo asked as Rauxdi stepped forward slowly and held her hand out with the letting tapping against his chest.

"It's... something that she should read after whatever happens tomorrow. Depending on whoever is still alive of course," Rauxdi said as Ienzo took the envelope from her hands, flipping it over to see it was sealed with a messy wax stamp made with blue coloring.

"Do you-"

"Can't stay too long, I'm on probation after trying to be a rebel. Just..." Rauxdi turned around as she slowly made her way towards the portal. She stopped as she glanced back at both Ienzo and Ansem the Wise before she spoke, "Don't worry about the inside help. Also, uh... Even and Demyx went into hiding just in case they were found out as traitors."

"Young lady."

Rauxdi flinched in annoyance as she saw Ansem the Wise look at her with conflicted emotions over his face.

"What could you possibly w-"

"Thank you for letting us know. We know it was due to... that other girl, Audri was what Demyx called her, that I'm even here now with my apprentices." Ansem the Wise said with her hand over his heart before he made a slight bow.

Rauxdi chewed on her bottom lip before grinning with a half-handed salute, "Good luck you crazy scientists." With that, Rauxdi made her way back through the dark corridor as it closed behind her.

She started to slowly walk forward as she was a figure in the middle of the corridor with his hands at his side. She glances away as she heard them speak, "Have you finished what you wanted to accomplish here?"

Rauxdi gave them a thumbs-up as she nodded. "Yeah, I just hope she gets it..."

"Hm, well come on. We need to make one more stop before I hand you off." The voice said as they had taken the lead as they walked through the dark corridor. Rauxdi glanced along the inky black walls surrounding them before looking at the towering man ahead of her.

"Hey Saix?" She asked as she saw the man stop for a moment before glancing back at her from under his hood. "What is it?" Saix asked, letting Rauxdi catch up to him before they continued down the corridor.

"Do you think we're going to get out of this unscathed?"

Saix smirked before he pulled his hood down, letting his long blue locks flow down his backside and along his shoulders. "...I doubt it." He said before he opened the end of the corridor, having them step out.

Saix glanced around the sunset-filled world before he saw a familiar redhead he had not seen in what felt like ages.

"Shouldn't you go say goodbye to your _real_ home?" Saix asked as he stepped forward, seeing Axel was sitting on the ledge of the clock tower, with three sea salt ice creams in hand. Rauxdi peeked out from the corridor before closing it behind her as she realized that they were in Twilight Town.

A grin crossed her face as she saw her former coworker past Saix's massive frame, "Hey Axel!"

Axel looked completely startled when Saix was there, but seeing Rauxdi here too? "Why..." Axel started to ask before Saix took a seat on the edge, motioning Rauxdi to do the same. She nodded as she quietly took a seat next to Saix on his left.

Even though Rauxdi would usually fight with Saix after all their time together, she decided it was best to call it truce as they were both doing things that... were being done outside of Master Xehanort's control.

"I'm not here to fight. Relax." Saix said as he reached over and swiped one of the ice cream bars from Axel's hand and passing it over to Rauxdi. Not wanting to pass off the weird tasting treat, Rauxdi obliged, taking a bite out of it with a smile.

"Hey!" Axel called out in annoyance as Rauxdi leaned over with a big grin on her face as she continued to eat the ice cream.

"You can't eat all this. Why did you buy three of them? One for Roxas, and two for good luck?" Saix asked, mocking his former friend as he placed his hand on his knee while glancing at the red-headed man to his right.

"Maybe he is just addicted to sugar like when we were back at the castle," Rauxdi suggested as she raised the bar up to Saix's mouth, which he gladly took a small bite before Axel scoffed at the annoyance of his... enemies antagonizing him by stealing his ice cream.

"I dunno. Because I felt like it, okay?" Axel said with a pout as Rauxdi continued to eat the ice cream in silence. After a moment, Axel gave in as he turned to his former friends, "Why are you here?"

"Because we wanted to join the pity party." Rauxdi said in a cheerful tone as Saix smirked, "Got it memorized?"

Saix adjusted his posture and gave Rauxdi a look that it was now his time to take over. She nodded and slowly got up before taking her time to walk along the clock tower, away from the conversation he was about to have.

"Back when we were still friends, we used to sneak into the castle," Saix started to speak as he noticed Rauxdi was far enough to way. "Yeah..." Axel responded quietly before Saix continued, "And we made a friend there, a girl. We apprenticed to Ansem the Wise to rescue her."

Saix knew that Axel was paying attention from the way he responded with frustration, "Yeah, and we failed. One day she was just gone!"

"You gave up."

"I did not give up. One day we're apprentices, the next Ansem the Wise has up and vanished, the day after we're Nobodies, day after that we're doing icky jobs for Xemnas. I couldn't keep up with you," Axel explained, as he remembered everything that happened to them.

Saix sighed before he leaned his head back, looking up at sun set sky painted with delicate clouds above their heads, "Following Xehanort's Nobody was the only way to discover what happened to her. She was his lab rat."

"So? You found her? I helped you rise through the ranks, so I hope it paid off."

Saix shook his head as his eyes scanned the horizon before landing back on Axel's face to gauge his reaction, "I'm afraid not. Nary a trace. I started to wonder if we'd imagined her. Maybe she never existed. And then, in time, I awakened to a new purpose. I realized I could be stronger."

"Well then, you blew it! Wise up already and just quit." Axel rolled his eyes as he took a bite out of the single ice cream he was still working on before he adverted his eyes from Saix.

"Face it. Roxas is just like our other friend. Gone forever. You need to accept that." Saix said quietly before he heard Rauxdi's footsteps were getting louder as she seemed to made her entire circle around the clock tower.

He could see Rauxdi appear around Axel's shoulder as the former Nobody spoke pointing fingers at Saix, "You wish. And I'm getting her back. All of 'em! Especially Roxas! I'm even dragging _you_ home."

Rauxdi did not seem to like the sound of that as she leaned over and yanked on Axel's hair lightly, "Hey, what about me you big... The marks under your eyes. They're gone?"

"Yeah. Don't need 'em." Axel said, swatting Rauxdi's hands away, seeing that she still had the ice cream stick in her hand.

"Always told you they'd stop you from crying. The upside-down tears." Saix said as he slowly rose to his feet, seeing Axel spin around and take his fury out on him.

"You would get lost? I'll clobber you both tomorrow." Axel barked in annoyance as Saix smirked, summoning a dark corridor.

"I except no less. Come along Rauxdi."

"Wait, can I ask him one question?" Rauxdi asked as she stepped towards Saix, seeing that even though Saix was done, she wasn't ready to go.

Saix shrugged his shoulders as he stood by, knowing he enjoyed seeing Axel being pouty. "I don't see why not."

Rauxdi smiled as she turned around with a shit-eating grin on her face, "Hey Axel-"

"What do you want Rauxdi? Can't you see I wanna eat my ice cream in p-"

"How's Audri doing?"

Axel stopped as he turned to look at Rauxdi's face, seeing that she was being sincere and not just being a jerk. He sighed as he lowered the ice cream from his mouth, "She's well. Although... she's struggling. She keeps using spells pertaining to darkness. Why?"

A moment of silence and concern crossed the woman's face as she chose her words carefully. "I know it's a stretch but... Do you think she'd listen to any of you if you told her to stay out of this fight?"

Axel just tried to not laugh as he shook his head, "I doubt it. She's definitely done with taking orders from what I've seen..."

"I see... well, in that case-" Rauxdi quickly leaned down and grinned swiping the extra ice cream from Axel's hand.

"What- hey!" Axel called out, not attempting to stramble after Rauxdi as she waved goodbye with the ice cream in hand, "Bye Axel, you're going to get fat if you keep eating these!"

"You little..."

Saix smirks as Rauxdi follows him into the dark corridor and he closes it behind them.

As they continue down the corridor, Rauxdi finished the last of the ice cream as she heard Saix speak up.

"...What do you plan to do?"

Rauxdi took the two popsicle sticks in her hand and tapped them against her bottom lip nervously, "Just hope that Audri will listen to me tomorrow. As a last resort though..."

"Don't get reckless."

Rauxdi smirked as she opened up another dark corridor, "No promises."

* * *

"I hope that this works, you don't know how exhausted I feel," I said with a yawn escaping my mouth as I walked across the forecourt in the Land of Departure. I could see the bright orange star twinkling around my head as I heard Terra respond, _"You didn't need to do this. I would like to hope that-"_

"But what if we failed?"

I took Terra's silence as a nervous answer as I sighed. "I'm kidding, come on! Let's try this spell out since I realized what you were talking about after encountering Aqua's memories back in the Realm of Darkness."

I stopped as I opened the book to the page I skimmed earlier on my way over here. I bit my lip before waving my hand over the middle of the forecourt, feeling a trickle of darkness trying to emit from my body.

I sighed as I dropped my hand worried looking at the stay, "I don't think I'll be able to do this properly... Mostly with darkness running through my body right now..."

_"I know you can do it. If anything, that is probably how Master Xehanort reached out to Aqua. Maybe you just have to reach out, and remember how you've seen me,"_ Terra said, trying to provide some guidance as I placed the book down at my feet and held both of my hands up.

I had a smile on my face as I scoffed, "If you just compared me to the old geezer, I'm going to be very upset if this works." I closed my eyes as I started to breathe deeply. I could see a glimmer of orange light in my mind like it's beckoning me forward.

I let myself relax as I felt the light wash over me before everything enveloped my sight with a blinding white light before it turned down to shades of orange. I opened my eyes slowly as I felt the words leave my lips in a trance-like state.

Bright orange chains erupted from my chest and started to encircle the middle of the forecourt tightly to create some type of apparition in front of me. As I started to finish the incantation, I lowered my hands to see Terra's newly formed body standing in front of me.

"I can't believe that worked," I said putting my hands on my hips as I walked over to Terra. He stood there inspecting his body as he looked at me with a smile of encouragement, _"Knew you could do it."_

"Well... It's the best we can do for you right now," I said reaching out my hand, trying to rest it on his shoulder, but felt my hand just phase through the image.

_"But it's enough."_

I glanced up at his face as I could see him smiling down at me, like an absolute ray of sunshine as the night air encompassed us with a warm glow. I looked away and blushed as I could see Terra raise his hand and place it on my shoulder, hovering ever so slightly as I could feel the warmth coming off of him.

_"Want me to show you around then?"_ Terra said with a smile as I looked up at him, "S-sure thing!"

After what felt like hours, we made our way inside the castle, from every nook and cranny to every room inside of the castle. Terra spoke of stories on him and Aqua meeting Ven for the first time, how their Mark of Mastery test was in the moment, and every little memory he could think of regarding his home.

I smiled and acknowledged all of it. Even though I had felt the memories entering me with every step further into the castle, I knew that it helped Terra actually reminisce within the moment. Even if he's not fully back in his body, he was happy to see his home.

Before long, we made our way outside of the castle and down the mountain trail. "Where are we going exactly?" I called out as I could see Terra was steps ahead of me up the mountainside. _"Come on, I thought you could use the exercise!"_ Terra called out in a joking tone.

"Hey, I haven't gotten that fat since I started using corridors!" I barked as I took the moment to sprint and pass him, making my way to the summit. I slowed down and gasped as I saw the castle far in the distance, twinkling against the night sky over the cliffside.

_"I really wanted to surprise you with a nice view actually,"_ Terra called out as he stood next to me with a charming smile on his face.

"Like you already don't do that," I said before seeing Terra's face look down at me with a bright red blush crossing over his cheeks. I grinned as I walked over to the cliffside to see some building ruins were along the ledge. I smiled, looking up at the night sky above.

I felt so small and insignificant at that moment, taking in all of the stars and the sky above, but I was okay with this feeling due to knowing what amazing things are out there. "Aqua and Ven must be watching the same sky still," I said as I heard footsteps behind me.

"Do you think... I can watch the stars with all of you when this is over?" I asked, slowly turning my head back before a gloved hand cupped my cheek.

"As long as you stay by my side."

My eyes went wide as I looked up to see Xemnas in front of me.

_How did I not sense him coming?!_ I thought to myself before another thought crossed my mind.

"Terra?" I called out before Xemnas' tight-lipped smirk turned to a more neutral emotion.

"I needed to... contain him so he wouldn't make a scene," Xemnas said coldly as he stepped to the side and I could see past him to see Terra's form had diminished, and encircled in a thorny black sphere, was a glowing orange star.

"Terra!" I called out in a panic, launched myself into a sprint towards the sphere. Before I could even cross the field, Xemnas appeared in front of me and grabbed my wrist.

I gritted my teeth, feeling anxiety starting to bubble in my chest since the last time Xemnas acted towards me in this way back at the Abandoned Mansion.

"Xemnas, please! I can't. Now not, I'm so close..." I started to plead, looking up at the towering Superior as he sighed, loosening his grip on my hand before holding his palm up in front of me, "I am here on a different matter, which can be extended to our original deal."

I took a deep breath as I looked up at him, feeling the tears welling up the corners of my eyes as I asked, "What else could you need?" Xemnas' golden-amber eyes flickered for a moment before a translucent symbol appeared in Xemnas' hands.

"I... want to embed you with the remainder of my power. The power I hold over the original Organization XIII."

As I recognized the symbol, I brought my hands to my mouth before looking up at Xemnas with disbelief on my face. "The Recusant's Sigil? But why... don't you need this power during tomorrow's-"

"It is fitting for you to behold, as it is a symbol that represents death and endings," Xemnas responded as I could see the firm look on his face. I felt a flicker of hunger in my chest as I lowered my hands to my chest, clutching my shirt tightly.

"...Did you know that I was going to be like this? Did you know that I was a Lich?" I said, looking up at Xemnas with a newfound rage burning within my chest before I saw the expression of guilt across his face for a second before it hardened again to no expression.

"I only knew what Vexen's research had done. I did not know what you w-"

"That's even worse!" I snapped as I threw my left hand to the side, summoning Ends of the Earth, hoping that Xemnas would see that I'm a threat now and get the message.

He didn't flinch or move as I raised the keyblade to his chest, "What could you possibly gain from having me taking the Recusant's Sigil?"

Xemnas slowly moved his other hand before placing it down on my keyblade, gently pressing it down with no effort as my hands shook, "Audri."

I ground down my teeth as I tried to push the keyblade back up but Xemnas barely held it down as my hands trembled.

"Xemnas, answer me!" I barked out, as the tears fell down my face slowly. They keyblade disappeared from my hands as my knees buckled, falling on the grass beneath me. Xemnas was silent as I crouched down on the grass, sobbing into my hands.

I could feel every emotion of anger and resentment towards the Organization and Master Xehanort, flowing out of me. I knew that I was running out of options, but to see things coming to a head like this...

I soon felt a hand on my head, brushing through my hair as I heard Xemnas' voice.

"I never want to hurt you," He said in the most reassuring tone I had ever heard from him. I slowly lifted my head from my hands to see Xemnas, kneeling in front of me with a leather glove tossed on the ground.

I felt hiccups bubbling from my chest as Xemnas moved his bare hand from my head to my cheek, stroking his thumb against it slowly as I leaned into his touch. It was slightly warm, but it felt... like the expression of pain was almost real on Xemnas' face.

"I never want to see you get hurt. The Recusant's Sigil will make sure that everyone in Organization XIII will not harm you in any way," He said calmly as he leaned in, pressing a chaste kiss on my forehead.

"I don't know what will happen tomorrow, but you... You need to be safe."

I brought my hand up to the one hand cupping my face as squeezing his hand tightly, "Promise me one thing Xemnas." Xemnas stayed silent as I spoke again, a firm tone in my voice as I voiced my request.

"Promise me that no other harm will come to Terra during tomorrow's battle."

"I... Audri-"

"Promise!" I said, standing my ground as he leaned forward and wiped my tears away with his gloved hand.

"I won't lay a hand on him. As long as you come with me willingly, as you promised." Xemnas' voice turned into a soft growl as he leaned forward, pressing his lips against mine. I fluttered my eyes closed as I could feel his gloved hand run down my neck before it rested over my heart.

He pressed his palm firmly on my chest before I felt a jolt of energy flow through my body for a quick second before it disappeared with no pain.

Xemnas' lips parted from my own as he looked down at me, moving his gloved hand away before I held my palm out, seeing a translucent X-shaped symbol appear for a moment. It quickly disappeared just as fast as I summoned it, seeing a look of relief from the corner of my eye.

I looked at him before feeling a pang in my chest, "Will you let Terra go now?" Xemnas nodded as he helped me to my feet slowly, and turning to the small cage hovering nearby. As he snapped his fingers, the sphere diminished into nothing as I raced forward seeing the orange star hover its way over to me.

"Terra!" I said as I cupped my hands around the star as it twinkled lightly in my hands, "Are you alright?" _"Alright? I am far from all right Audri! How... Why did you-"_

"It'll be okay Terra, just believe in me."

_"But what about yo-"_ Terra's voice was distorted as the star diminished into orbs of light within my hands.

I turned around to see Xemnas holding his hand out as I realized that he forced the connection closed between Terra and me. He stepped forward as I dug my fingernails into the palms of my hand.

"Why did you..." I started to say with growing frustration in my chest before Xemnas brushed his fingers along my corded bracelet, pressing the star-shaped charm against my skin until it broke a little bit of skin from the glass and metal edge.

I whimpered before he tilted my face up with his finger, forcing me to look up at his hypnotic gaze. "Don't forget who you belong to," Xemnas scolded before he took a step back and summoned a dark corridor, leaving me alone on the summit.

_I hope you can forgive me_, I thought to myself, batting my tears away before I summoned a dark corridor back to the others.

* * *

_"Aren't you worried that you're diving down here too much?"_

_I blinked as I looked over to see the blonde again. I just shook my head as I held my hand out, gesturing over to her. She sighed and nodded._

_"I'm worried... but for another reason."_

_I raised an eyebrow as I cocked my head to the side. She looked at me and frowned slightly, "What if we can't bring Terra back? Would all of this been for nothing?"_

_I brought my hand to my mouth before a heart hovered in between us. A flicker came from the heart before it disappeared into orbs of light and was replaced by the Recusant's Sigil. A sigh escaped my lips as I finally spoke up._

_"I wouldn't say it was for nothing."_

_The blonde looked over to me as I crossed my hands over my chest as I looked down at the lingering space between us._

_I chose my words carefully before I began to speak, "I'll make sure that we can bring Terra back. Although... How come you started coming to me? It's not like I had anything to do with the others until recently?"_

_The blonde looked over at me with surprise before a warm smile crossed her face, "I guess you know what my powers do and how they work..."_

_I nodded._

_She fluttered her eyes towards the darkness below our feet before she took a step forward and held her hand out towards me. When she looked up at me with her bright blue eyes, I could see the determination behind them._

_"Because I knew you had a strong heart. Even before you started tampering into the darkness for more power to protect and aid all of them, you always showed mercy towards Sora and all of his friends."_

_"...Naminé. What if I didn't, or never, changed and fought against Sora and all of his loved ones. Would I still have shown mercy?"_

_She pulled her hand back to her chest, placing her hand softly over her heart, "Who knows? But..."_

_Something flickered beneath out feet before the floor burst into feathers as white birds started to fly into the air as bright, lilac glass started to show underneath our feet._

_Due to the overwhelming amount of light, I shielded my eyes with my arms. I soon felt a hand on my wrist, making me slowly lower my arm to see Naminé standing there with a smile on her face._

_"I do know that you're one of us."_

I bolted upright as I could feel the sweat dripping from my face. I felt my chest was burning a little inside as I sat up in bed. I pulled my knees up and rested my head between them trying to keep my heart from pounding anymore.

I slowly pulled my legs from between my knees as I slowly looked across from me, Kairi was still sleeping softly in her bed after coming back from Destiny Islands with Sora and Riku.

On the other side of the room, I could see Aqua's makeshift bed was empty. I slowly pulled the covers back and walked over to the window to see that it was barely dawn outside.

I decided I might as well get dressed since we have to meet with Yen Sid this morning. He wanted to make sure we got plenty of rest once we came back from the Land of Departure, asking me to tend to Aqua's wounds and that she was recovering from the Realm of Darkness.

As I finished sliding on my shorts, I wrapped my corded bracelet around my left arm and adjusted the shoulder armor plate on. As I could feel it adjusted properly, I tiptoed out of the room with no shoes on to not disturb Kairi.

As I crossed the threshold, I could feel my vision was slowly adapting through the darkness before I saw a light coming from the kitchen. I slowly made my way over, seeing Aqua and Ventus were sitting at the dining table, fast asleep with their hands intermingled.

A small pang touched my heart as I sidestepped to the cottage's living room, pulling a few blankets from the couch and going back to the kitchen. I carefully wrapped the blankets around their shoulders and left their hands intertwined.

I guess when you haven't seen your friends in over a decade, you never want to leave them behind again. I thought to myself as I felt a small smile made my way on my face. I took my leave from the kitchen and went over to the front door, slowly opening it before stepping outside.

With the cobblestone path outside, leading out into the unknown fields of the training guards Kairi, Axel, and I had been using for weeks, I slowly stepped off the path as I could see a fallen log nearby.

With the stars twinkling above, I felt the earth and grass underneath my bare feet, irritating my skin slightly as I made my way over and sat upon the fallen log.

I pulled my corded bracelet from my wrist and whispered a few words into the glass Wayfinder before it started to glow and a golden figure started to form in front of me. 

"Terra," I said softly, clutching the charm tightly in my hand as I could see Terra standing there with his right hand over his heart. As he looked at me, a frown appeared on his face.

_"Audri? What... Shouldn't you be resting?"_ Terra asked, stepping forward as I smiled weakly, "I couldn't sleep. Someone told me that I'm like... one of you guys, but it doesn't feel right."

Terra cocked his head before crossing her arms over his chest, puzzled by my response.

_"Do... you not want to be like us?"_

I drummed my fingertips on my knees before looking up at him, "I feel like I haven't really proven myself. I've only done a little bit so far, and yet..."

Terra nodded before he slowly sat down on the fallen log beside me and looking up at the starry sky above, _"Do you think there's always a goal you need to achieve to be considered a good person?"_

Now it was my time to be puzzled.

"I mean... Not really, but-"

I could feel the warmth on my lips as I could see Terra's finger on my lips shushing me as he responded, _"Exactly Audri. There's no goal that all of us have to reach to be considered to be a good person."_

I blushed as I swatted his hand away, seeing that my hand brush through his before we turned our attention to the twinkling sky above.

_"I think... you had lived up to strange expectations all your life because of the people you were around. They... made sure you were either perfect or saw you as a nuisance,"_ Terra continued as I placed my hands on the log, leaning back with tears in the corners of my eyes.

_"But..."_ I felt Terra's hand, or the warmth of his hand, brushing along the top of my head like he was ruffling my hair.

_"I think you've become an awesome person, no matter what doubts you have."_

I tried to blink back the tears before letting out a sobbed laugh. Terra looked at me with concern and surprise before I pulled my hands up and rubbed my face, hoping the tears would stop. "Ah... Thank you Terra. I... I didn't expect that to really affect me so much. I guess I'm just..."

_"Worried?"_

"Scared, to be honest. Mostly of what comes next."

Terra smiled as I rested my hands on my knees, feeling the dirt from the log rubbing against my palms as I looked over at his glowing figure.

"And Terra?"

_"Yes?"_

"I..." I paused for a moment before I felt the warmth of his hand over my own, making me look up at him as Terra had a calm expression on his face.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I just..."

_"It's... I would be lying if I said it was okay, but..."_

I could see Terra's hand tighten into a fist, like he wanted to squeeze my hand before he spoke, _"You're worth more than what Xemnas wants to use you for. I hope you know that. I did some digging through your memories after the connection got severed. Audri please, don't do it..."_

I looked away before I picked up the corded bracelet and wrapped it back around my wrist, "It's... what I decided on. Mostly if I can give you a fighting chance. Isn't bringing you back the reason I decided to break away from the first place?"

_"But Audri-"_

"You're more important than me! No matter what, please... Please don't risk anything for me," I said with a tearful smile before I whispered the encantation again, seeing Terra's light starting to get brighter.

I could hear Terra's pleas to reconsider before the light died down, cutting the connection with Terra as I could see the sun slowly rise over the hill. I could feel the corded bracelet was getting hot against my skin before I pulled my knees to my chest, watching the sunrise.

Tears fluttered along my eyelashes as I could feel the weight of my heart getting heavier by the minute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are those fireworks or just a hellstorm ready to happen? Who knows. But thank you for those so far who have been reading and tagging along this odd adventure. I still got some chapters under my belt, although it's harder to finish the ending. Conflicted, I suppose now that Melody of Memory was announced but.... eh, I gotta stop some day.


End file.
